The Belt and Road Initiative has been developed by China since 2013 and it is a project of economic cooperation striving to connect China with Central Asia, Russia and Europe. The areas of cooperation are very wide and will include large infrastructure investments. This project presents a big economic opportunity at the time of sluggish global economic growth.

Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations, Marie Chatardová, was invited to speak at the High-Level Panel Discussion aimed at finding intersections between this initiative and the approved Sustainable Development Goals. This panel discussion was help on April 11, 2017 and was hosted by the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, H.E. Mr. Lenni Montiel, while the keynote address was delivered by professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University. Ambassador Chatardová followed the tone of professor Sachs’ speech and emphasized the necessity of trans-border cooperation between countries and peoples, especially in times when globalization seems to be meeting with resistance in many ways. Ambassador also noted the role of the Czech Republic in promoting open and dynamic economy and expressed her hope that the proposed initiative would help to bring these traits into the global economy.