UN says Belt & Road tallies with global development expectation

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Europe

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative is in line with the UN's sustainable development goals and the UN will promote the implementation of the initiative, a senior UN official has said.

Wu Hongbo, UN under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, made the remarks when talking about the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation earlier this week.

The upcoming high-level forum, scheduled for May 14-15 in Beijing, will send a positive and important message to the world that globalization is irreversible and the win-win cooperation can inject strong impetus to the future world development, he said.

Wu Hongbo, UN under-secretary-general. /VCG Photo

The Belt and Road Initiative, put forward by China in 2013, is in line with the spirit of the UN Charter and the 2030 Agenda, he said, adding that both the UN agenda and the initiative are aimed at eradicating poverty.

The 2030 Agenda is the blueprint for global efforts to reach the Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 targets to be met 13 years from now.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres will attend forum. His presence shows strong UN support for the initiative, said Wu, who will also be a member of the UN delegation to the forum.

António Guterres, UN secretary-general. /VCG Photo

More than 1,200 delegates will attend the forum, including officials, scholars, entrepreneurs, representatives of financial institutions and media organizations from 110 nations, as well as representatives from more than 60 international organizations.

The initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa.

The initiative and the Chinese concept of building a community with shared destiny was incorporated into a UN Security Council resolution in March.

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