Opinion: Public diplomacy plays increasingly important role in Belt and Road project

Alina Grishkevich, eng.belta.by[Belarus News]

image from article [rough translation of  sign: International Seminar:One Belt One Road. Getting Familiar with  Hubei - presentation]

WUHAN, 21 May (BelTA) - Public diplomacy [JB emphasis] plays an increasingly important role in the Belt and Road concept, Alina Grishkevich, the vice chairperson of the Belarus-China friendship society, the observer of BelTA news agency, said when speaking at the international seminar Belt and Road. Getting familiar with Hubei in the city of Wuhan on 20 May.

The international seminar provided a comprehensive discussion of the economic cooperation between the countries within the framework of the Belt and Road initiative declared by Chinese President Xi Jinping, she said. “This peaceful and constructive concept provides for the comprehensive development of all states parties. This megaproject has quickly gained the support of the region and the world, and this attests to its strategic importance,” Alina Grishkevich noted.

She drew attention to the role of public diplomacy in the Belt and Road. Strengthening mutual understanding between the peoples of Belarus and China is important for the development of business contacts. Effective economic and investment cooperation is easier to develop if you understand each other through mutual knowledge of the traditions, history, culture. This is what the Belarus-China friendship society has been working on. The society draws up its plans taking into account the Belt and Road concept.

“The better the partners understand the traditions, national specificities of each other, the easier it is for them to find common ground and reach arrangements and sign agreements which take into account the mutual interests of the parties,” she noted. The Friendship House hosts exhibitions, evenings of friendship, poetry and music dedicated to prominent figures of culture, history and science of China, and events to celebrate the anniversaries of the Belarusian-Chinese diplomatic relations. It also hosts economic presentations with the participation of representatives of the Belarusian and Chinese business, banking sector and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thus, the House of Friendship gathers the people interested in the further development of the Belarusian-Chinese contacts. Public diplomacy contributes to addressing important economic issues.

The international seminar Belt and Road. Getting familiar with Hubei was attended by a Belarusian delegation which held a presentation of economic and investment potential of Belarus, in particular of Brest Oblast. On behalf of China the seminar was attended by about 100 companies representing different fields of business. According to the parties, the event would help strengthen the comprehensive Belarusian-Chinese cooperation.