Syria joins China's Belt & Road Initiative

DAMASCUS, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Syria on Wednesday joined China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which will help Syria open broad horizons of cooperation with China and other countries.

The ceremony of Syria's admission into the initiative took place at the Planning and International Cooperation Commission in the capital Damascus and was attended by Fadi Khalil, the head of the commission, and Feng Biao, China's ambassador to Syria, during which both sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Syria joining the BRI.

Khalil said the admission of Syria into the initiative revives the old role of Syria on the ancient Silk Road and will help in boosting bilateral cooperation with China and multilateral cooperation with other countries, which are desirous of cooperating with Syria.

He noted that Syria had been one of the main countries on the ancient Silk Road particularly the cities of Aleppo and Palmyra.

He pointed out that the signing of Syria's admission into the initiative reflects an ancient and long history of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

For his side, Feng said that the cooperation between the two countries provides the greatest contribution to the economic reconstruction and social development in Syria and it also enhances the harmonization between the BRI and the eastward strategy proposed by Syria.

The ambassador pointed out that the initiative is in line with the strong desire of the world's countries for broad economic participation, noting that the initiative has become the widest international cooperation platform in the world.

The BRI, proposed by China in 2013, comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aiming to build a trade, investment, and infrastructure network connecting Asia with other parts of the world along the ancient Silk Road trade routes and beyond.