AKP, May 15, 2017 –Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, along with other Heads of State/Government from 28 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa as well as heads of UN and other partner organisations, attended the opening ceremony of the “Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held at the Auditorium Hall of China National Convention Centre (CNCC) in Beijing, China on May 14.
According to the Belt and Road Forum’s secretariat release, those leaders included President Mauricio Macri of Argentina, President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, President Michelle Bachelet of Chile, President Milos Zeman of the Czech Republic, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, President Bounnhang Vorachith of Laos, President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Doris Leuthard of the Swiss Confederation, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, President Tran Dai Quang of Vietnam, Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen of Cambodia, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia, Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama of Fiji, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni of Italy, Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia, Prime Minister Jargaltulga Erdenebat of Mongolia, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan, Prime Minister Beata Szydło of Poland, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain, and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe of Sri Lanka.
Besides the 28 Heads of State/Government, there were officials, scholars, entrepreneurs and people from financial institutions and media from 110 countries, and 89 principals and representatives from 61 international organisations also attended the event. Among them, UN Secretary General António Guterres, President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde attended the roundtable summit. In total, more than 1,200 representatives participated in the forum.
“The Belt and Road Initiative is rooted in the ancient Silk Road. It focuses on the Asian, European and African continents, but is also open to all other countries. All countries, from either Asia, Europe, Africa or the Americas, can be international cooperation partners of the Belt and Road Initiative. The pursuit of this initiative is based on extensive consultation and its benefits will be shared by us all,” said Chinese President H.E. Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony.
The Chinese top leader highlighted various important key aspects to promote the cooperation under this initiative.
By Khan Sophirom
