Full coverage: Belt and Road Forum for Int'l Cooperation

(Source: CGTN)
 
The upcoming Belt and Road Forum will be held in Beijing in the middle of next month, and will be the highest level forum since the Belt and Road initiative proposed in 2013.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C) and Wang Xiaotao (L), deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, attend a press conference on the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, capital of China, April 18, 2017. The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will be held from May 14 to 15 in Beijing and Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony and host the round table summit of the leaders, Wang Yi said on Tuesday. At the invitation of Xi, 28 heads of state and government leaders will attend the forum. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

A press release on Tuesday confirmed that 28 heads of state and government leaders will attend the forum. Seen on the list are Russian President Vladimir Putin, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

At the same time, over 80 leaders of international organizations are also expected to attend, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, and the Managing Director of IMF Christine Lagarde.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. He will also host a roundtable meeting on policy and strategic development. Various topics will be discussed during the forum, including infrastructure, economic cooperation, and energy resources.

"The Belt and Road initiative aims to increase international cooperation on the basic principles of mutual discussion, mutual construction and mutual sharing. Entering its fourth year, the initiative has made great progress and entered the phase of practical cooperation. The purpose of holding this forum in Beijing is to collect the intelligence of all parties involved, summarize the successful experiences, plan the new trajectory and create this cooperation platform that will open a new chapter for the initiative," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.