(VOVWORLD) - An opening ceremony for the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) was held on Wednesday in Beijing, China. The forum brought together more than 4,000 delegates from 140 countries and territories and 30 international organizations.
 Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing, China on October 18, 2023. (Photo: Kyodo/VNA) |
At the invitation of Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping, Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong led a delegation of high-ranking Vietnamese officials and joined other heads of state and government from more than 20 countries to attend the forum.
At the ceremony, the leaders and delegations lauded the contributions and achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) over the past 10 years with multiple projects and cooperative programs in transportation, energy, digital economy, education, health care, and science and technology.
The Belt and Road Initiative has contributed to enhancing regional connectivity, helping countries in green transition and digital transformation, while bolstering friendship and mutual understanding among peoples.
Within the framework of the forum, China has proposed the Global AI Governance Initiative to promote the healthy, orderly and safe development of artificial intelligence. China will work with its BRI partner countries to strengthen the building of multilateral cooperation platforms covering energy, taxation, finance, green development, disaster reduction, anti-corruption, think tank, media, culture and other fields.
China will continue to host the BRF and establish a secretariat for the Forum, said Chinese President Xi Jinping at the ceremony.