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The China proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has brought the vision of “heart connectivity” to reality, and it is a path to common development, multiple ambassadors and officials from BRI partner countries said on Wednesday during a roundtable held in Fuzhou, East China’s Fujian Province.
“The BRI has brought changes in the mind of the world,” said Bishnu Pukar Shrestha, Ambassador of Nepal to China, noting that the initiative focuses on connectivity, not only in transportation, but also in minds and hearts.
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“This vision and concept have now become possible to access,” Shrestha continued. Nepal has benefited a lot from the BRI, and there are different projects that have been completed in Nepal, including railways and roads, which have energized bilateral cooperation and allowed the country to continue to develop, he said.
Shrestha made the remarks during a roundtable on the Belt and Road Global Chambers of Commerce and Association Conference, which is the world’s first international cooperation and exchange platform with chambers of commerce, industry associations and other social organizations as the main participants. The conference, which is held annually, aims to harness the resources of chambers of commerce as the BRI cooperation advances, and to explore new international cooperation opportunities.
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“The BRI gives an opportunity to the world that is connected now, and the potential for the initiative is unlimited,” Awale Ali Kullane, Somali Ambassador to China, said during the roundtable, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the process, but it has also shown the importance of such a global initiative.
Kadirkamu Kandasamy Yoganaadan, chargé d'affaires of Sri Lanka’s Embassy in China, enumerated a number of infrastructure construction projects under the BRI including ports, airports and expressways. Taking the Colombo Port project as an example, Yoganaadan said that it is being built with the modern sustainable design and smart city concept, providing investment opportunities in the IT industry, financial services and shipping logistics.
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“The BRI has generated many direct and indirect job opportunities in Sri Lanka, and we are expecting more direct investment flows. Sri Lanka is among the countries ready to join the second phase of the BRI,” Yoganaadan noted.
Minister of Economic Affairs of the Embassy of Malaysia in China Unny Sankar Ravi Sankar said that China has been Malaysia’s largest trade partner for 14 consecutive years and the biggest source of foreign direct investment as well. The two countries have established two industrial parks under the BRI, and more projects are expected next year, he said.
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Minister of Economic Affairs of the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing, China Aslam Chaudhary said that Pakistan is among the first countries that joined the BRI.
“During the last 10 years, we added 2,500 kilometers of motorways to the existing network of rural transportation and added 10,000 megawatts of generation capacity to the national grid. We also added 4,000 electricity transmission lines to the existing network,” Chaudhary noted.
Chaudhary added that the major focus of the BRI during its first 10 years has been cooperation between countries to build infrastructure, promote economic development and investment. In the second phase, business-to-business collaboration will become increasingly important.
Ahmed Chouaib, chargé d'affaires of the Mission of the League of Arab States in Beijing, said that Arab countries participating in the BRI are demonstrating a high degree of engagement with China. This initiative represents the power of international cooperation, a power of interconnectivity that crosses national and ethnic boundaries.
Chouaib noted that strengthening people-to-people communication between China and Arab countries has also become an integral part of the BRI, and cultural, tourism and artistic cooperation have all emerged.
The BRI is a symbol of unity between China and Arab countries. As well as building roads and bridges, it can also create more interconnected, prosperous and harmonious cooperation, said Chouaib.
來自“一帶一路”伙伴國的多位大使和官員11月22日在中國東部福建省福州市舉行的圓桌會議上表示，中國提出的“一帶一路”倡議倡議將“心連心”的愿景變為現實，這是一條共同發展的道路。
尼泊爾駐華大使比什努·普卡爾·什雷斯塔（Bishnu Pukar Shrestha）表示：““一帶一路”倡議改變了世界的思維。
“這個愿景和概念現在已經成為可能，”Shrestha繼續說道。他說，尼泊爾從“一帶一路”倡議中受益匪淺，尼泊爾已經完成了包括鐵路和公路在內的不同項目，這些項目為雙邊合作注入了活力，使該國得以繼續發展。
Shrestha是在一帶一路全球商會和協會會議圓桌會議上發表上述言論的，該會議是世界上第一個以商會、行業協會和其他社會組織為主要參與者的國際合作與交流平臺。該會議每年舉行一次，旨在隨著“一帶一路”合作的推進，利用商會的資源，探索新的國際合作機會。
索馬里駐華大使Awale Ali Kullane在圓桌會議上表示：“一帶一路倡議為現在相互聯系的世界提供了一個機會，該倡議的潛力是無限的。”他指出，新冠肺炎疫情推遲了這一進程，但它也表明了這一全球倡議的重要性。
斯里蘭卡駐華大使館臨時代辦Kadirkamu Kandasamy Yoganadan列舉了“一帶一路”倡議下的一些基礎設施建設項目，包括港口、機場和高速公路。Yoganadan以科倫坡港口項目為例表示，該項目正以現代可持續設計和智慧城市理念建設，為it行業、金融服務和航運物流提供投資機會。
Yoganadan指出：“‘一帶一路’倡議在斯里蘭卡創造了許多直接和間接的就業機會，我們預計會有更多的直接投資流入。斯里蘭卡是準備加入‘一帶一步’倡議第二階段的國家之一。”。
馬來西亞駐華大使館經濟事務部長烏尼·桑卡爾·拉維·桑卡爾表示，中國已連續14年成為馬來西亞最大的貿易伙伴，也是最大的外國直接投資來源國。他說，兩國在“一帶一路”倡議下建立了兩個工業園區，預計明年還會有更多項目。
巴基斯坦駐北京大使館經濟事務部長Aslam Chaudhary表示，巴基斯坦是首批加入“一帶一路”倡議的國家之一。
Chaudhary指出：“在過去的10年里，我們在現有的農村交通網絡中增加了2500公里的高速公路，并在國家電網中增加了10000兆瓦的發電能力。我們還在現有網絡中添加了4000條輸電線路。”。
Chaudhary補充說，“一帶一路”倡議最初10年的主要重點是各國在基礎設施建設、促進經濟發展和投資方面的合作。在第二階段，企業對企業的協作將變得越來越重要。
阿拉伯國家聯盟駐北京代表團臨時代辦艾哈邁德·喬伊卜表示，參與“一帶一路”倡議的阿拉伯國家正表現出與中國的高度接觸。這一倡議代表了國際合作的力量，一種跨越國家和族裔界限的相互聯系的力量。
Chouaib說，加強中阿人文交流已成為“一帶一路”倡議的重要組成部分，文化、旅游、藝術等領域合作不斷涌現。
“一帶一路”倡議是中阿團結的象征。Chouaib說，除了修建道路和橋梁，它還可以創造更多相互聯系、繁榮和和諧的合作。