All roads lead to Beijing—Belt and Road Forum kicks off
Monitoring Desk: India that wishes to isolate Pakistan is standing in a corner today when two-day “Belt and Road Forum” kicks off in Beijing having attendance from every important country of the world while India and its smallest neighbour Bhutan are standing in a corner.
Chinese President Xi Jinping while delivering his keynote address at the opening ceremony of “Belt and Road Road Forum” said that “One Belt and One Road” is “a project of the century” that will benefit everybody across the world.
President Xi Jinping indicated that 780 billion yuan (US$113 billion) would be provided as extra funding for historic project to revive Silk Road —Silk Route.
Meanwhile, India believes that its sovereignty and territorial integrity is threatened by CPEC project therefore it will refrain from any activity directly or indirectly linked with “Belt and Road project”.
In a statement released by Indian Foreign Office late Saturday evening Indian says as:
“Connectivity projects must be pursued in a manner that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity. No country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have been urging China to engage in a meaningful dialogue on its connectivity initiative. We are waiting for a positive response from the Chinese side”.
All G-8 and G-20 countries except Canada are attending the event. European Union is also not participating as a component but its member countries are present in Beijing.
Chinese President President Xi Jinping is hosting 29 heads of states at Yangqi Lake Resort in Beijing while his team is receiving ministerial delegations of another 28 countries those do not send their heads of state.
The Presidents or Prime Ministers of Argentina, Belarus, Cambodia, Chile, the Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam have already reached Beijing
Afghanistan, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Maldives, Myanmar, Romania, Nepal, New Zealand, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, the UK, Uganda and the UAE have sent their ministerial level delegations.
The United States, France, Japan and South Korea have sent representatives including their former prime ministers, politicians and advisers.
India is boycotting the event while confirming the fact that how much she is annoyed with the development of this region through China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
India and Bhutan are only two countries from South Asia those are not attending the event.
Indian Foreign ministry while announcing boycott stated that it (India) has serious concerns with CPEC project that goes through disputed areas.
India stands in isolation while One Belt One Road project popularly known as Obor would connect eastern, southern and southeastern Asia with Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Europe and as Africa through a network of railroads, highways and sea ports. The main Hub of this project will be Gwadar Deep Sea Port in Pakistan.
Two-day “Belt and Road Forum” will be addressed by world leaders in opening session and then the officials of 130 countries will participate in plenary sessions focusing on business, infrastructure development, trade opportunities, investments sources and enhancing cultural ties among participant stats.
Russian President Vladimir Putin while addressing the Forum said that “hawkish rhetoric” that some powers use is no longer working in solving regional conflicts rather making the situation complicated. He stated that Eurasia is a great reality and Belt and Road Forum would useful for International Cooperation.
Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif while speaking at plenary session of Forum was of the view that One Belt and One Road would bring prosperity, peace and stability through connectivity and close contact all over the world.
Sharif maintained that peace and development go hand in hand and prosperity can not be achieved without providing peace and security.
State run Radio Pakistan reported that Sharif said the initiative signifies that geo-economics must take precedence over geo-politics, and that the centre of gravity should shift from conflict to cooperation.
Radio also reported that Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was of the view that One Belt and One Road would be a powerful tool for overcoming terrorism and extremism that is spreading in the region.
