This photo shows the main forum venue of the 2024 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road held in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, on August 28, 2024. (Photo: People's Daily Online/Weng Qiyu)

The 2024 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road was held on Wednesday in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Organized by the People's Daily, the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the Sichuan Provincial Government, the forum attracted over 200 representatives from 191 media outlets across 76 countries and regions. 

Delegates attending the forum noted that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), proposed by China in 2013, has evolved rapidly, yielding substantial and tangible outcomes.
 
These efforts have contributed to a more interconnected world, fostering paths to both individual and collective prosperity, delegates said. 

"We have benefited from these projects, small and beautiful projects, even other projects like building other facilities, not only schools and hospitals,"  Sharachchandra Bhandary, executive editor of Nepal's National News Agency, said at the forum.

Yong Hong Han, associate editor of Singapore Lianhe Zaobao, stated that by reviewing media reports on the BRI, she found that this initiative has shifted more to people's interactions, which serves the local population and the local community.

Negasi Ambaye Abay, deputy CEO of the Ethiopian News Agency, said: "Given Ethiopia's landlocked geographical position, initiatives like the Belt and Road project are pivotal in bolstering its infrastructure and connectivity to international markets." 

"Both public and private media outlets in our country view the initiative as pivotal for poverty reduction and development," Abay said.

Highlighting the crucial role of the media in showcasing the development outcomes and facilitating pragmatic cooperation, delegates called for collaboration to tell BRI win-win cooperation stories as well as its contribution to the world.