ISLAMABAD: Nine regional countries have agreed to cooperate in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and dismissed the possibility for commencement of any ‘new cold war’.

Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) hosted an extraordinary nine-nation webinar on regional economic connectivity, ‘Belt and road cooperation: promoting people-to-people bond’.

The webinar was attended by representatives from Friends of Silk Road organisations of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand and think-tanks in Indonesia, Philippines and China.

Saying the ‘Asian Century’ needs BRI to progress, the speakers called for strengthening multilateral cooperation, promoting the BRI as it represents shared interests of Asian countries.

Participants vow to institutionalise their interaction, counter disinformation about connectivity project

The nine countries agreed to institutionalise their interaction, counter disinformation and fake news and rejected any notion of a ‘new cold war’.

The webinar was moderated by Mustafa Hyder Sayed, the PCI executive director. He said BRI had provided an alternative development model to developing countries for promoting human development which before BRI were dependent on the West and its institutions.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman Senate Defence Committee and Pakistan-China Institute, said BRI through CPEC benefits the people. He said BRI was not directed against any country and termed it a win-win model of cooperation since it was inclusive and aimed to promote connectivity. He said 2021 was an important year in the history of Communist Party of China since it marked its centenary and the year when China eliminated absolute poverty.

Professor Wang Yiwei, Director Institute of International Affairs, Renmin University of China, said the post-pandemic era was all about adaptation to the ‘new normal’. He said in these challenging times, multilateralism was the only way forward and BRI can be taken as a blueprint to advance multilateralism.

Kalyan Raj Sharma, General Secretary of Nepal Friends of Silk Road Club said China-Nepal economic relations had been further cemented since the start of the BRI.

Dilip Barua, Chairman Bangladesh-China Silk Road Forum called for jointly countering the anti-BRI propaganda which emanates from India and the western countries. He termed BRI an economic masterstroke of President Xi Jinping, which had improved infrastructure in Asia.

Dararat Puechmongkol, Assistant Secretary General Thai-Chinese Culture and Economy Association, said Thailand had been increasingly cementing its relationship with China especially in the context of BRI, accruing benefits for its people.

Professor Dai Yonghong, Director Institute of Global Governance and Area Studies, Shenzhen University, said the international environment calls for advancing green development, adapting green business practices and promoting human development. The unipolar world that the United States is trying to maintain is disappearing and a multipolar world is emerging.

Prof Gayathri De Zoysa, senior researcher Pathfinder Foundation, Sri Lanka, said Sri Lanka was one of the most important BRI partner countries and Chinese foreign direct investment had increased significantly since the inception of BRI.

Dr GP Doraisamy, a leader of Malaysia-China Friendship Association, said Malaysia enjoys a close relationship with China. He urged shedding the ‘colonial mentality’.

Ananda Prasad Pokharel, political bureau member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), talked about the trans-Himalayan multi-dimensional connectivity network which is an economic corridor between Nepal and China as part of BRI.

Despite international pressure, Nepal has continued its commitment to high quality development of BRI projects since both countries signed MoUs in 2017.

Prof K.D.N. Weearasinghe, Convener Asia Progress Forum, Colombo, said BRI had led to the economic revitalisation of partner countries.

He also outlined the history of China-Sri Lanka relations which dated back to hundreds of years and have been strengthened since then.

Veronika S. Saraswati from Indonesian think-tank CSIS said BRI had enabled technology transfer between China and the partner countries.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2021