World leaders laud BRI's substantial progress, envision promising future

BEIJING -- A constellation of leaders of countries and international organizations said here Friday that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has made substantial progress and contributed to expanding connectivity and raising living standards across the world.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), the foreign leaders also pledged joint efforts to ensure a higher-quality development for the Belt and Road and build a community with a shared future for humanity.

Since President Xi Jinping proposed the initiative six years ago, 126 countries and 29 international organizations have signed BRI cooperation documents with China. The ongoing three-day forum gathers some 5,000 participants from more than 150 countries and 90 international organizations.

"The goal that brings us together is to provide harmony and sustainable economic development and growth across the Eurasian region," said Russian President Vladimir Putin in his address.

The BRI corresponds with Moscow's efforts to forge a greater Eurasian partnership, and Moscow hopes for more alignments with other bilateral and multilateral development agendas in the region, he added.

Putin also called for closer dovetailing between the BRI and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), saying that the EAEU "is seeking to ensure the widest cooperation with all the interested countries and associations, primarily with China."

For his part, Nursultan Nazarbayev, first president of Kazakhstan, said his country, a cradle of the BRI, has actively supported the initiative since it was put forward in 2013.

The BRI, he added, has become a path for stability, development and prosperity, creating better development opportunities and setting a new model of globalization.

"The BRI has transcended the challenges of geography and unequal development," and China "has proven itself as a reliable, responsible partner in the international arena," he said.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said the BRI dovetails with Egypt's efforts to grow economy, advance industrialization, strengthen economic and trade links, promote financial integration and increase people-to-people exchanges.