Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif left for China on Friday for a six-day long visit to attend the "Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation" being held in Beijing on May 14-15.
It aims to reassert China's past prominence as the dominant power in Asia whose culture and economy deeply influenced its neighbors as far as Africa and Europe. Leaders from 28 countries including Russian President Vladimir Putin are due to attend, but none from major Western countries.
A number of agreements and MoUs related to CPEC projects are also expected to be signed on the occasion.
China has dedicated $40 billion to a Silk Road Fund and the idea was the driving force behind the establishment of the $50 billion China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
The video features a group of children hailing from the countries that lie along the OBOR route, to explain President Xi Jinping's ambitious trade plan that seeks to connect more than 60 countries across three continents.
Baglay said India supported connectivity across the region, but there was a problem with the Pakistan end of "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR) - a term widely used to describe the project.
But a closer look at the attendee list shows that only 20 OBOR countries will send their heads of state (nine, including Fiji, are from outside the Belt and Road). According to Oxford Economics data, the project includes 65 countries, which account for one third of global GDP and 4.5 billion of the world's population. They will all be represented at more junior levels.
Ambassador Hayat said that his country would be partaking in the May 14-15 global media cooperation forum dedicated to the initiative and revealed that over 80 countries will participate in the event.
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The High Negotiations Committee (HNC), the main Syrian opposition umbrella group, criticised the plan as vague and illegitimate. The U.S. and Russian Federation signed the memorandum in 2015 when Russian Federation began its air operations in the country.
Duterte said he and Xi, during a phone conversation earlier this month, "agree that the bilateral relations of both countries have been developing quite well, and that we are progressively expanding the areas where both sides can cooperate and dialogue".
But with a confusing name, that officially refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, added to myriad economic and security risks, clouds hang over the plan.
On the face of it, China's big plan boasts some impressive numbers.
"When they believe the initiative is mainly aimed at building up China's sway, instead of providing profitable projects, few will be interested".
Meanwhile, officials from Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) urged government to "seriously" focus on the implementation of One Belt One Road project by defining comprehensive strategies.
Thomas Hugger, chief executive officer and founder of Asia Frontier Capital Ltd., expects Pakistan to gain "significantly" from the initiative, thanks to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which has lured $46 billion in investment commitments from China.
China's ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui, told an Indian military think-tank in Delhi last week that while India has reservations about the China-Pakistan corridor, Beijing has no wish to get involved in territorial disputes between India and Pakistan.
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