Leaders' Roundtable Summit at 2nd BRF kicks off with Sisi’s participation

BEIJING, April 27 (MENA) - The Leaders' Roundtable Summit at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) kicked off on Saturday in Beijing.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will deliver Egypt’s speech at the summit which Chinese President Xi Jinping chairs and where world leaders will discuss Belt and Road cooperation.

Heads of state and government from 37 countries and other representatives from around the world are taking part in the three-day forum, which runs from April 25 to 27.

The BRF is a top-level platform for international cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, which was initially proposed by President Xi in 2013.

In his opening address, President Xi noted that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has achieved great progress since the first BRF in May 2017.

China looks forward to working with all parties to improve the concept of cooperation, and focus on building the Belt and Road with high quality on the basis of extensive consultation and the rule of law, joint efforts, shared benefits and equal opportunities for all, Xi was quoted by CGTN as saying.

Xi added that the BRI focuses on infrastructure interconnection, accelerating intelligent manufacturing and cooperating in frontier areas of the digital economy.

In a keynote speech Xi gave yesterday at the inaugural session of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, he called on the international community to join hands to work out a "meticulous painting" of the BRI to continuously promote its high-quality development toward a bright future.

The principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits should be upheld, said Xi, stressing open, green and clean approaches, as well as goals of high-standard, livelihood-improving and sustainable development.

He called for focusing on eradicating poverty, increasing employment and improving people's livelihoods, so that the BRI would better benefit all people and make a tangible contribution to local economic and social development while ensuring commercial and financial sustainability.

He promised that "the BRI will not become an exclusive club”, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua.

"We should forge a global connectivity partnership to achieve common development and prosperity," Xi said. "As long as we work together to help each other, even if thousands of miles apart, we will certainly be able to find a mutually beneficial and win-win road."