US, S Korea to attend Belt and Road forum
The US and the newly formed government of South Korea will send official representatives to attend the two-day Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing beginning on Sunday.
Representatives from the two countries will join 29 heads of state and delegations from several other countries at the forum, where China is expected to share details of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a multi-billion dollar programme comprising trade and infrastructure projects.
Also known as the One Belt, One Road project, the BRI comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
India is yet to officially announce whether it will attend the BRF. Given its opposition to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project under the BRI, and apprehension that it will strengthen China’s strategic and economic clout, India may not be officially represented.
“There are Indian scholars coming to attend the relevant events,” foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Friday.
Matt Pottinger, senior director for East Asia of the National Security Council, will lead the delegation from US.
From South Korea, Park Byeong Seug of the ruling Democratic Party is expected to be present.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as well as UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and World Bank President Kim Yong will also be attending.
Nepal and China on Friday signed a framework agreement on Beijing’s One Belt, One Road initiative.
Foreign secretary Shankar Das Bairagi and Chinese ambassador Yu Hong signed the memorandum of understanding on Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative at the foreign ministry in Kathmandu.
The MoU seeks to strengthen cooperation in logistic systems, transport network and related infrastructure such as railway, road, civil aviation, power grid, information and communication, said a statement from the foreign ministry said.