Former House Speaker Jose De Venecia, Jr., Philippine President’s Special Envoy for APEC and Intercultural Dialogue and Philippine Consul General to Xiamen Julius Caesar A. Flores, were among the VIPs invited to deliver keynote speeches at the Opening Ceremony of the “International Symposium on the Maritime Silk Road: Connectivity and Benefits-Sharing Between China and Southeast Asia” on 17 November 2017 held in Jeurong Hotel, Fuzhou City, Fujian, hosted by Fujian Normal University’s (FNU) in celebration of its 110th Anniversary.
In his keynote speech, Consul General Flores made a presentation on “The Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and China’s Maritime Silk Road: Complementing Mechanisms for the Enhancement of Friendship, Understanding and Cooperation”, underscoring the importance of enhanced cooperation between ASEAN and China as well to greater connectivity between the two regions.
Meanwhile, Former speaker De Venecia in his speech cited China’s 21st Century Maritime Silk Road as a network of friendship and cooperation extending to Europe and Africa given the positive developments in the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting improved Philippine-China relations.
The symposium was co-hosted by the Embassy of Indonesia in Beijing and its Consulate General in Guangzhou, China and the Indonesian Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Other VIPs and distinguished guests include, HE Soegeng Rahardjo, Indonesian Ambassador to Beijing; Hon. Ratu Silvy Gayatri, Indonesian Consul General to Guangzhou; Mr. Zhang Jinxiong, Executive VP of Indonesian Chinese Entrepreneur Association; Mr. Chen Chuxin, Member of Party Leadership Group of Foreign Affairs Office of Fujian Provincial People’s Government & VP of the Fujian Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; Mr. Jusman S. Djamal, Former Minister of Department of Indonesian Defense Technology and Satellite; Mr. Xu Tingyan, VP of Malaysian-Chinese Association & President of Penang Chinese Town Hall and Datuk; Mr. Vidhyandika D. Perkasa, Director of the Politics and International Relations of CSIS and Prof. Yu Xiangdong, VP of China Southeast Asian Research Association among others.
Furthermore, separate sessions on various topics on ASEAN-China relations and China’s Belt and Road Initiative were participated in by academicians, scholars and other guests.
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