Belarus' FM calls Belt and Road initiative key element in developing global civilization

MINSK, 12 September (BelTA) — The Belt and Road Initiative is among the key elements of the joint construction of the global civilization, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksim Ryzhenkov said during the ninth Belt and Road Summit in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China on 12 September, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Maksim Ryzhenkov emphasized that the launch of the Chinese initiative in 2013 was more than timely.

He thanked the government of Hong Kong for the invitation to participate in the summit.

"Hong Kong has firmly established its position as a leading international center of trade, finance, culture and education. It is a 'superconnector' that creates additional opportunities for China and the whole world, multiplying benefits and mutual advantages," the minister of foreign affairs emphasized.

At the summit, the minister presented Belarus' vision for the second decade of the Belt and Road Initiative.

"Perhaps some of my statements may seem straightforward to you, but they are sincere, as they should be between friends," he remarked. “I believe that no country in Europe, except for Belarus and probably Hungary, would dare to be so frank."

Maksim Ryzhenkov touched upon some historical events: "After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West announced the 'end of history' and tried to stop the clock on its 'unipolar policy' forever. But history cannot be stopped. What was happening in the world when the Belt and Road Initiative was launched? We were experiencing a global economic crisis caused by the U.S. economic distortions, the collapse of the West's opportunistic interventions in Afghanistan, the Middle East and North Africa. The accumulated failures of the West-centered system demanded decisive remedial measures."

"On the one side there was a group of countries which felt nostalgia for the old, golden times, when they lived off ruthless exploitation of the natural and human resources of the rest of the world. They longed for and tried to stop the course of history. For this purpose they hindered in every possible way the development of other countries, caused mayhem, stirred up protests in the states that chose an independent path in different shades of the so-called color palette," he stated.

"On the other side there were states that never wanted to return to the old days of poverty, neo-colonial plunder and exploitation," the minister added. "These countries have many names: developing countries, newly independent states, the Global South. But the most accurate one is ‘Global Majority’. First, because it reflects appropriately the distribution of population, territory, natural wealth, economic and intellectual potential. Second, as a reminder of the fundamental principle of democracy, because the majority decides."