ASTANA: The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) advocates the interests of the majority of people around the world and provides support to the least developed and most in need, especially small and medium-sized states, said Vladimir Norov, former secretary general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), on Thursday.
“Despite attempts to discredit and distort the Belt and Road Initiative, the number of countries joining the BRI continues to grow,” Norov, also former foreign minister of Uzbekistan, said at a seminar marking the 10th anniversary of the initiative.
“It is important to note that China’s cooperation with these countries is carried out voluntarily, and China does not interfere in the internal affairs of partners,” Norov added.
The seminar, titled “Global Conference on the Successes and Challenges of the Belt and Road Initiative 10 Years on and the Golden Age of China-Central Asia Engagement,” took place at Nazarbayev University in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan.
More than 200 participants from China and Kazakhstan, including officials, scholars and students of Nazarbayev University, experts, entrepreneurs, and reporters, attended the seminar.
During the event, they exchanged ideas in an open and friendly atmosphere and reviewed the achievements in the past 10 years, expressing full confidence in the prospect of a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future in the next “golden 30 years.”
