President Xi Jinping's speech at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on May 14 offered a new model for win-win cooperation, said Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman of the Pakistani Parliamentary Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

He noted that President Xi started his speech with the history of the Silk Road and its development trajectory, and explained how it built connectivity between cultures, civilizations, countries and continents. He then introduced the five key components--policy, infrastructure, trade, finance, and people-to-people connectivity, and last, mentioned the significance and outcome of the Belt and Road Initiative.

"It's a new model for win-win cooperation, and President Xi has given his vision and the steps to transform the vision into reality," he said, adding that the Belt and Road Initiative has been institutionalized and globalized.

All in all, the Belt and Road Initiative is about corridors, culture and connectivity, he said. When mentioning the facilitation of trade and investment connectivity, he stressed that efforts are needed to be made in improving digital connectivity, education of the youth, and especially human resources.

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held in Beijing from May 14 to 15. It is designed to address regional and global economic issues, for brainstorming on interconnected development, thus enabling the Belt and Road Initiative to deliver greater benefits to the people of countries involved.

Copyedited by Dominic James Madar

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