BRI's 10th anniversary worthy of celebration: Hungarian expert

Engineering vehicles are busy at a construction site of Hungary-Serbia railway project in Szabadszallas, Hungary, Feb. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

Highlighting Hungary's pioneering role as the first European country to sign BRI cooperation agreement with China, Horvath said it aligns with Hungary's "Opening to the East" policy and has resulted in fruitful collaborations between the two countries.

BUDAPEST, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has seen a decade of remarkable accomplishments, deserving significant celebrations, a Hungarian expert has said.

Levente Horvath, director of the Eurasia Center of the John von Neumann University in Hungary, made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua on the eve of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF).

"In the past ten years, the Belt and Road cooperation has been really successful," he said, adding that numerous projects have been effectively completed under the initiative.

Levente Horvath, director of the Eurasia Center of the John von Neumann University, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Budapest, Hungary on March 16, 2023. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

Highlighting Hungary's pioneering role as the first European country to sign BRI cooperation agreement with China, Horvath said it aligns with Hungary's "Opening to the East" policy and has resulted in fruitful collaborations between the two countries.

Commenting on the Hungary-Serbia railway project, a flagship BRI project, Horvath said such a project has the potential to "significantly bolster European connectivity," foster cooperation among Central and Eastern European countries, and "bring a lot of benefits to the development of our region."

New railway tracks are seen at a construction site of Hungary-Serbia railway project in Kiskunlachaza, Hungary, Feb. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

He also mentioned potential for more bilateral cooperation in the financial sector under the BRI framework.

The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) will be held in Beijing from Tuesday to Wednesday.

By June 2023, China had signed more than 200 BRI cooperation agreements with over 150 countries and 30-plus international organizations across five continents, yielding a number of signature projects and small-scale yet impactful projects.