On July 12, the fifth meeting of the Advisory Council of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) (hereinafter referred to as the Advisory Council) was held in Beijing. Members of the Advisory Council praised the achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) over the past 10 years and said that BRI cooperation has effectively boosted the economy of all BRI partners. They believe the Initiative has played a positive role in advancing an open world economy, fostering sustainable development, and helping countries to work together to deal with global challenges.
As a non-profit international policy advisory body, the Advisory Council is mandated to provide intellectual support for the BRF, with its members participating in the activities in their personal capacity. "In promoting BRI cooperation, the Advisory Council not only enables more people to have a deeper understanding of the initiative but also provides intellectual support for cooperation among BRI partners, assisting them in achieving high-quality cooperation," said Douglas Jardine Flint, former Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings.
"The BRI serves as a new solution for building a community with a shared future for mankind", said Justin Yifu Lin, former Vice President of the World Bank and Honorary Dean of National School of Development at Peking University. He highlighted the achievements of the BRI such as the eagerly anticipated Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway for the Indonesian people, the Lancang EMU that serves as a national symbol for Laos, and the Africa Mombasa-Nairobi Railway that facilitates local development and people's daily lives. With a focus on the pain points and difficulties facing relevant countries and regions, BRI cooperation projects has promoted sustainable development and delivered tangible benefits to all the people.
Essam Sharaf, former Prime Minister of Egypt, said, "The BRI is of historical significance as it advocates openness, cooperation, and mutual benefit, bringing hope of development and prosperity to developing countries and gaining recognition from most countries." He also emphasized the need to build bridges of mutual trust and win-win cooperation through continuous high-quality BRI cooperation.
Mari Elka Pangestu, former Managing Director of the World Bank and former Minister of Trade of Indonesia stated that BRI cooperation has promoted economic integration among all BRI partners, continuously generating positive spillover effects. China and relevant countries and regions have engaged in constructive cooperation in areas such as technological progress, employment, and up-skilling.
Douglas Jardine Flint said, "The BRI has not only promoted infrastructure construction in relevant countries and regions but also greatly boosted industrial development and technological progress since it was proposed 10 years ago. The initiative has played a positive role in promoting policy coordination and facilitating connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people bonds, earning widespread acclaim from the international community."
Kishore Mahbubani, former Dean of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore stated that BRI cooperation is one of the most important international public goods in the past decade. It has made great achievements including attracting close to one trillion dollars of investment, generating over 3,000 cooperative projects, creating 420,000 jobs for relevant countries and regions, and lifting nearly 40 million people out of poverty. "The BRI has paved a path for win-win cooperation and shared development and prosperity."
(Reporters: Cao Shiyun, Zheng Xiang)
