Foreign journalists who are participating in the 2017 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road have expressed confidence in and hope for the Belt and Road Initiative.

“The Belt and Road Initiative is very important for everyone, and every country along the road, because it connects all the countries in Southeast Asia and expands to Europe, to Africa, and to Latin America,” said Jelly Musico, a journalist with Philippine News Agency, adding that the large number of countries involved in the initiative will see better economic integration in Southeast Asia.

He explained that the initiative is important for the Philippines, which faces the problem of a lack of infrastructure. The initiative will help his country and other countries with the same problem, especially those in Southeast Asia.

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“The Belt and Road Initiative means cooperation, and it is an initiative to bring people together, like the Silk Road,” Terrance Mintner from the Jerusalem Post told People’s Daly Online. He observed the initiative from a unique perspective - history. Through it, people can look back at history and revive something from then to today, he said.

Rahaman Mir, with Bangladesh’s The Independent, voiced his great expectations for the initiative. “Bangladeshi people really love the idea proposed by President Xi,” he explained, adding that if it is successfully implemented, it will surely benefit the peoples in both countries.

The forum, which is jointly hosted by the People’s Daily and the government of Gansu province, kicked off in Dunhuang, Gansu, on Sept. 19. It attracted over 300 media outlets from 127 countries and international organizations, making it the largest and most influential gathering of media organizations ever hosted by China’s mainstream media.