New Silk Road respectively One belt, one road (OBOR) is China's economic strategy, presented by President Xi Jinping in 2013, and in 2015 was issued an Action Plan for its implementation. Due to limited information and the successful participation of Slovakia in this project, the Institute of Economic Research of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (EU SAS) in cooperation with the Embassy of the People's Republic of China organized an international conference held on April 3 in the Primate's Palace in Bratislava.
The aim of presenting domestic and foreign experts was to bring the essence of OBOR closer and to share views on the opportunities and challenges that this megaproject presents in both the regional and global context. The conference was in English.
H. E. LIN Lin, Ambassador of China to the Slovak Republic greeted the participants and thanked the Director of the EU SAS for co-organizing this event. He pointed out that OBOR, as an open platform for international cooperation aimed at joint development and prosperity, is China's response to anti-globalization sentiments, unilateralism and protectionism. The facts of the past 6 years confirm that OBOR is an "economic pie" that has gained international support and trust, with 124 countries and 29 international organizations signing cooperation documents with China.
In 2015, Slovakia became one of the first countries to sign a Memorandum of understanding with China on intergovernmental cooperation in this project, which led to the development of mutual exchanges to the extent that in 2018 the trade volume exceeded 7 billion. USD. At the same time, he recalled the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries, which we are commemorating this year and expressed in this regard the hope that Slovakia will play a more active role in the cooperation area. He thanked Dane Meager, State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic and Government deputy for the New Silk Road, for her effective work in promoting the project.
Mrs. Dana Meager, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, presented the project and the progress of negotiations on cooperation between the two economies, while the locattion of Slovakia is directly related to the question of returning the geopolitical position of the SR. She recalled the wider context of OBOR in the regarding of the new phenomenon of "economic corridors", which go far beyond the transit of goods. In this respect, she noted that she sees considerable potential for Slovakia and confirmed the ambition of its more active participation, which will continue to be promoted within her competences.
The following contributions concerned to the development of OBOR cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe (Junchi Ma), Chinese and European rail freight (Jet Young), critical points for the EU (Stefano Palmieri), economic integration challenges (Peter Havlik) as well as relevant issues trade, finance and the role of the renminbi (Juraj Sipko).
After the presentations, discussion continued on some open issues of the OBOR development.
The conference significantly contributed to the expansion of the OBOR information base for both the professional and the general public. Moreover, the timeliness of its timing is underlined by the fact that the second OBOR Forum on topic „Belt and Road Cooperation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future“ will take place in Beijing on 25-27 April 2019, which will provide a further qualitative shift in this ambitious initiative with participation of delegates from more than 100 countries, including Slovakia.
