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Welcome Remarks
At the Opening of the Promotion Week
of the Economic Belt along the Silk Road
By LI Yong
Director General
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
6 October 2014
Vienna International Center
Your Excellency Mr. CHENG Jingye, Ambassador, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests and
Friends,
It is an honour for me to participate in the Promotion Week of the Economic Belt along the Silk
Road in the Vienna International Centre, organized by the Department of Culture of Shanxi
Province.
Please allow me first to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Permanent Mission of China to the
United Nations in Vienna for their strong support and to the VIC Chinese Cultural Association as
well as the Eurasia Silk Road Promotion Commission for their outstanding organization of this
event.
Two thousand years ago, Zhang Qian, a famous Chinese diplomat in the Han Dynasty, was first
sent as an envoy to the Central Asian countries and opened up the fabled Silk Road connecting
Europe and Asia from east to west. Today, we have the chance to recall the prosperity along the
Silk Road, and to gain an impression of how the merchants travelled and conducted business
along that ancient trade route. This event of today gives us all a better understanding of the true
meaning and spirit of the Silk Road, and bears testimony to the deep rooted and far reaching
efforts of our ancestors to connect with other people and nations in order to create mutual
prosperity. I cannot stop admiring the endeavor of our ancestors in pursuit of a better life, which
should serve as an example for our generation as we seek to achieve development and progress
through increased production and trade.
In September 2013, the President of China, His Excellency Mr. Xi Jinping delivered an
important lecture at the Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, during his visit to four countries
of Central Asia.
In this speech, he made a visionary proposal to build an Economic Belt along the Silk Road. This
proposal inherits the core spirit of the ancient Silk Road, based as it is on the principles of unity,
equality, tolerance and learning, and mutual trust benefit. Beyond that, however, it also
conforms to the current development trend of global economic and cultural integration, world
peace and cooperation.
Recently, I was honored to attend the 4th China-Eurasia Expo under the theme “Jointly Build the
Silk Road Economic Belt in an Open and Cooperative way”. I also had the privilege of
participating in the opening of the 18th China International Fair for Investment and Trade
(CIFIT), and jointly opening the Maritime Silk Road Forum. At these events the importance of
international cooperation in promoting regional development along the land and maritime Silk
Road became very apparent to me.
The Silk Road Economic Belt will serve as a major economic artery linking the Asia-Pacific and
European regions over a length of 7,000 kilometers and covering more than 40 countries, with a
total population of more than 3 billion. I am convinced that the economies of all these countries
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along the Silk Road have a bright future and will flourish through increased trade in goods and
services, transfer of technology and know-how, which will benefit all the people of the region.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Central Asian countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt enjoy a wealth of natural and
mineral resources, but lag behind in industrial development due to poor infrastructure and
adverse environmental conditions. The development priorities in this region are closely aligned
with UNIDO’s mandate of Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID), which will
be a fundamental pillar for a thriving Silk Road Economic Belt.
In recent years, UNIDO has provided technical support and project cooperation to the countries
along the Silk Road Economic Belt. For example, UNIDO has been assisting Kyrgyzstan in
conducting a feasibility study of the fruit and vegetable supply chain, targeting not only local
markets but also those of neighbouring countries. UNIDO has also been supporting the country
in building national capacities for trade and compliance with quality standards; improving
industrial statistics and development indicators of industrial performance; enhancing national
technical skills to address climate change and other emerging environmental challenges. In
cooperation with other UN agencies, UNIDO equipped 12 rural first-aid stations with
photovoltaic solar power providing reliable electricity for the uninterrupted healthcare of more
than 2,600 people.
In Kazakhstan, UNIDO is working on the development of the Country Programme Framework
for Kazakhstan for 2015-2017, together with the Ministry of Investments and Development and
other government and private sector counterparts. This should lead to the formulation of
technical cooperation projects in such areas as industrial modernization, trade capacity-building,
industrial statistics, energy efficiency, and investment promotion, in line with national priorities
and development strategies.
In cooperation with the Government of China, the Central Asian countries and the Asian
Development Bank, UNIDO held the Silk Road Roundtable in Urumqi on 2 September 2014 to
promote a new generation of industrial parks, including a Green Industrial Park under the Green
Silk Road project. UNIDO also organized the Maritime Silk Road Forum in Xiamen recently.
We strongly believe that the revitalization and expansion of transport and business infrastructure
development along the Silk Road will provide a strong stimulus to industrial development in the
Central Asian countries. UNIDO remains fully committed to support this process.
Today’s Photo Exhibition focuses on the changes that the ancient Silk Road brought to the
people and the countries in the region. It presents the scenario of the East-West exchange and
mutual learning.
This exhibition provides not only a memory from history, but also a vision for the new Silk Road
Economic Belt. This economic belt will play an important role, in the coming years, to promote
the inclusive and sustainable development of all concerned countries.
To conclude, I would like to reaffirm that UNIDO stands ready to support all stakeholders in this
endeavour, and to collaborate with the countries along the Silk Road as they strive to revitalize
this historic trade route and use the opportunities it will provide to develop their own flourishing
economies.
I wish every success to this important event.
Thank you.
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