PS IGC TRACECA and SRCIC: discussion of further partnership relations within Silk Road Business Summit 2018

During the event, attendees from Chinese and foreign governments, international organizations and chambers of commerce explored the issues such as maintaining multilateral trade system, building an open world economy, creating a safe international business environment and promoting the development of traditional medicine.

Upon the official invitation of Mr. Lu Jianzhong, the Chairman of the China Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce (SRCIC), Mr. Mircea Ciopraga, TRACECA Secretary General participated in this high level Summit. Addressing at the opening ceremony, Mr. Lu Jianzhong, SRCIC Chairman stated that this year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up, the 5th of the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the 30th of the founding of the city of Zhangjiajie.

Topics on deepening cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative, developing an open world economy and building a community within the region are of significant importance. 

Special attention was paid to bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanism of SRCIC with various profile regional and interregional organizations and institutional structures that could be mutually beneficial to the construction and promotion of One Belt and One Road Initiative as well as shared achievements of economic and commercial development.

Within the Summit Mr. Ciopraga addressed the speech and mentioned the significant role of the chambers of commerce of different countries, which are also TRACECA member-states, to coordinate with their governments and corporations to take the opportunities brought by the BRI, set up platform for trade and investment cooperation and promote the implementation of the projects in order to facilitate the high-quality and sustainable development of the world economy.

Mr Ciopraga emphasized the importance of sustainable transport in facilitating trade development, increasing the interconnectivity and compatibility of infrastructure elements, for development of regional and global exchanges and financial cooperation, informing that the Permanent Secretariat is currently carrying out consistent measures. 

Particularly, TRACECA is in progress to prepare an Investment Forum under the aegis of TRACECA, to be held in May next year, in Romania, and the China Silk Road Chamber of Int’l Commerce and its financial partners are cordially invited to participate and to be involved to this forum. TRACECA member states will present investment projects concerning transport infrastructure, related with regional connectivity, to be finance by donors. 

Taking into account one-year anniversary of signing the Memorandum of Understanding signed between PS IGC TRACECA and SRCIC on 8th September 2017 in Xi`an, China, TRACECA Secretary General also has been invited to the SRCIC Executive Board Meeting as observer and upon the outcomes of the Meeting Mr. Ciopraga presented the Certificate of Gratitude to Mr. Lu Jianzhong.    

It should be noted that the SRCIC now has 129 national-level chamber members from 77 countries that connects nearly 10 million corporations. It has become a bridge between governments and enterprises, the important connector between the business chamber and its members, which plays a key role in international cooperation and global governance.