DUSHANBE, 24.04.2019. (NIAT Khovar) – President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping invited President of the Republic Emomali Rahmon to take part in the second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for international cooperation will take place in Beijing from April 25 to 27, said the Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a press briefing on Friday.

Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ meeting in Papua New Guinea last year, Xi said that “China will host the second Belt and Road Forum in April next year.”

“We invite the members of the business community of the Asia-Pacific region to attend it,» he added.

More than 140 countries and international organizations had signed the Belt and Road cooperation documents with China, extending the initiative’s scope from the Eurasian continent to Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the South Pacific region.

China’s proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is not a geopolitical tool or a debt trap for participating countries, but a platform for cooperation, emphasized the Chinese Foreign Minister.

«This is an open platform for cooperation. It is not created for any hidden geopolitical agenda and is not directed against anyone,” noted Xi.

The initiative One Belt — One Road combines the Economic Belt of the Silk Road project and the Sea Silk Road of the XXI Century put forward in September 2013. It involves the conclusion of bilateral memorandums of cooperation with states located along the economic corridor development project known as the Euro-Asian Transport Links (EATL) (more than 40 documents have already been signed).

Nearly 40 leaders of states or governments will take part in the second Belt and Road Forum, said Xi at a press conference in Beijing recently.  Belt and Road’s first forum was held in Beijing in May 2017. It was attended by 29 heads of states or governments, as well as heads of major international organizations.

The upcoming forum is China’s most important home-field diplomatic event this year, bearing international significance. Leaders of Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Mongolia, Philippines, Serbia, Singapore, Tajikistan, Thailand, UAE are expected to take part in the forum. The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde and the UN Secretary General António Guterres will also be in attendance. Heads of state or government from 37 countries are expected to attend the roundtable, Wang Yi told reporters last week.

Wang Yi also announced that BRF’s major events include 12 sub-forums and an entrepreneur conference on April 25, the opening ceremony and the high-level meeting on April 26, and the leaders’ roundtable on April 27. President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the forum and deliver the keynote speech. He will chair the leaders’ roundtable and brief local and foreign media on the outcomes after the roundtable. President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan will also hold a welcome banquet for the leaders and guests of various countries.