Cooperation and synergy between countries have been vital to tackling coronavirus outbreak and holds lessons for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) programme, according to Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia.

"Everyone must walk and move in-sync towards a common goal, a healthy community, and a strong and robust economy. Through synergy, anything we do will be more effective and have a bigger impact. We can apply this lesson in many other areas, including BRI cooperation," Widodo was quoted as saying by an HKTDC press statement summarising the first day of the Fifth Belt and Road Summit.

In his pre-recorded speech at the annual event, which is jointly organised by the Hong Kong government and the HKTDC, the Indonesian President emphasised that synergy is key to BRI cooperation.

"Indonesia hopes the BRI cooperation will also encourage partnerships between the government, the public, and the private sector, in the form of Public-Private Partnership or PPP.

Second, we must continue to maintain the principle of equality in cooperation. Equality will create space for countries to plan projects based on their national interests.

Widodo said Indonesia's infrastructure development projects are open for cooperation with all partners, including BRI.

In her opening address, Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, said so far, China has already signed over 200 cooperation documents with 138 countries and 31 international organisations under BRI.

"For Hong Kong, given our location and our growing economic ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, the Economic and Trade Co-operation Zones in the ASEAN region will present ample opportunities to Hong Kong enterprises and their partners," she said.

Other speakers on Day 1 included Ning Jizhe, Vice Chairman, National Development and Reform Commission; Wang Bingnan, Vice Minister, Ministry of Commerce; Ren Hongbin, Vice Chairman, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council; Xie Feng, Commissioner, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Peter K N Lam, Chairman of the HKTDC.

Hong Kong-based Smart City Consortium signed a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia-based real estate developer and operator PT Graha Buana Cikarang to expand Hong Kong's smart city technology to Southeast Asia, the HKTDC statement said. The report also noted that the Indonesian government has been making plans to relocate its capital city to the province of East Kalimantan.

The plenary session, Creating a Healthy, Sustainable and Inclusive Future, saw representatives from Hungary, Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh, and Thailand discussing the policy landscapes and investment opportunities in their respective economies, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The first day also saw breakout sessions on the theme of Greater Bay Area (GBA) with the first session on fighting the coronavirus with innovative technology bringing together prominent experts in respiratory diseases, biomedical professors, and business leaders, while the second session discussed digital technology market opportunities in the GBA.

Breakout sessions were also held on Hong Kong's role as an international deal-making and dispute resolution centre for BRI investors and opportunities created by cluster development of Belt and Road Economic and Cooperation Zones in terms of alternative manufacturing locations and consumer markets.

(Writing by Saket S; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

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