Belt and Road Initiative: Opportunities and challenges

Tuesday, 25 July 2017 01:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China, offers many opportunities for countries like Sri Lanka that require substantial infrastructure development. At the same time, implementing prudent economic policies and balancing regional rivalries are challenges that need to be dealt with, according to Pathfinder Foundation Executive Director Luxman Siriwardena, who delivered a speech at the Third Trans-Himalaya Development Forum (THDF) in Mangshi, Yunnan Province, China recently.

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The China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) in collaboration with the Dehong local government of Yunnan Province organised this conference. The theme of the conference was Industrial Capacity Cooperation and Shared Development and the aim of the conference was to explore cooperation in industrial capacity and develop a coordinated strategy to boost shared development in the region.

The conference brought together around 50 high-level officials, business leaders and distinguished scholars from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and China.

Siriwardena, further elaborating on the challenges faced by the countries in the region emphasised the need for comprehensive infrastructure development in areas such as modernisation of sea and airports, construction of highways, improvement of digital connectivity and further opening of the economy to the globalisation process.