The Belt and Road Forum (BRF) Advisory Council was founded in 2018. It's a non-profit, international policy advisory body, offering intellectual support for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the forum. The council members are former politicians from Belt & Road countries, heads of international organizations, business leaders, and scholars. Some members have expressed their recognition of and vision for BRI's achievements and future. 

Erastus J. O. Mwencha, former deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, believes that China has become more efficient and also more opened up, as Africa is also starting to open up; Africa is always a great friend of China for its independent development and that friendship must continue. 

Moreover, China is getting more recognition on building healthier international relations, he said. 

The former chairman of the government of the Russian Federation, Mr. Mikhail Fradkov, said that it is important that the meeting shared the way to enhance benefits for the future work, unite efforts to make all the projects on high quality and lay a solid foundation for multilateral cooperation and exchanges. 

As the BRI continues to develop, more voices across the ocean welcoming this mega project is now loud and clear. 

Former French Prime Minister Jean-pierre Raffarin stated that as the two foreign ministers of China and France reached an agreement on the extension of the agreement from the two presidents, the cooperation of BRI projects are well realized. The governments of both sides offered good suggestions on common plans within the BRI framework. 

Douglas Jardine Flint, UK Treasury's Belt and Road envoy, added that infrastructure is highly necessary. In the coming year, the world is facing issues including climate change and lower carbon consumption. Boosting the global economy and connecting regions and countries are obviously the priority, he said. The BRI is a key initiative in terms of building that connectivity and therefore it is very much in UK's interests to support the project and build more economic success, Flint noted. 

According to the BRI official statistics, its transportation projects alone have already brought more than 32 million people out of moderate poverty. Such massive plan however leaves nobody behind. On the contrary, China is giving its "secret and measures of fast and steady growth" to the members within the BRI. 

The Maritime Silk Road and the Suez Canal could help both China and Egypt do more. The two countries have achievement in varies aspects, especially the economic zones that many Chinese companies help to construct, former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said. 

In addition, being a responsible country, China not only focuses on solely building things up but to establish comprehensive facilities to optimize the situation. 

According to former Indonesian Trade and Tourism Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, economic integration is of great importance. Building the infrastructure is just one part, China has completed more. The country participated in different investments and trades around the infrastructure that cause more economic benefits. 

China is well known for its historic Great Wall for defense; however, the nation now keeps paving ways that could connect the entire world.   

As Shamshad Akhtar, former UN under-secretary-general indicates, the BRI is very instrumental. It enhances connectivity and cooperation of countries along the "road." The flexibility has brought regional exchanges through the geographic and economic corridor to global communications and collaborations. 

At the end of 2019, the year has witnessed tensions, regional wars, natural disasters and most of all, the downward trend of the global economy. Meanwhile, achievements by the BRI are shoring up confidence amongs BRI members and even the rest of the world. The Great-Wall-like initiative is now connecting dots and making more friends while stamping out threats and uncertainties.