Kazakh President participates in One Belt, One Road initiative opening ceremony

    The two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation kicked off for the first time ever in the capital of China this morning, Kazinform reported.
    The forum is themed "One Belt, One Road: cooperation for the sake of common prosperity". China intends to turn the forum into a multilateral dialogue platform for implementation of Chinese President Xi Jinping's strategic initiatives - the Silk Road Economic Belt (proposed in Kazakhstan in September 2013) and the 21^st century Maritime Silk Road (put forward in Indonesia in October 2013) - that became the elements of the One Belt, One Road initiative.
    Participants of the forum are expected to focus on interrelatedness of politics, transport, trade, finance and peoples, trade and economic cooperation, industrial investment, energy and resources, financial support, environmental protection and many other issues.
    The forum will consist of the Plenary Session and the High-Level Dialogue on May 14 and the Leaders' Roundtable on May 15 behind closed doors.
    A total of 29 global leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of Turkey Recept Erdogan, gathered in Beijing.
    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, World Bank President Kim Jim Yong and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde.
    The forum is poised to become the most important political and diplomatic event in China in 2017 since the launch of the One Belt, One Road initiative.
    China will contribute an additional 100 billion RMB ($14,7 billion) to the Silk Road Fund, Chinese President Xi Jinping said while inaugurating the historical Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on Sunday morning, Kazinform’s correspondent reported.
    "China plans to enhance its contribution to the implementation of the One Belt, One Road initiative and contribute an additional 100 billion RMB to the Silk Road Fund," the Chinese leader announced at the forum.
    As a reminder, the Silk Road Fund was established in December 2014 to ensure financial support of the infrastructural projects implemented within the One Belt, One Road initiative. China's contribution to the fund amounted to $40 billion.
    President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev is among 29 global leaders who attend the high-profile forum in China.
    Reported by Kazinform.