The second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) kicked off in Beijing, China on April 26.

The event has reportedly brought together 37 heads of state and government, along with 5,000 delegates from more than 150 countries and 90 international organizations.

The Tajik delegation to the event is led by Presidne tEmomali Rahmon.

Media reports say that themed “Belt and Road Cooperation, Shaping a Brighter Shared Future,” the forum is China’s most important diplomatic event in the year.

It includes the opening ceremony, a roundtable between leaders and a high-level dialogue for ministries, representatives of businesses and scholars.

In his opening remarks, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on parties joining the “Belt and Road” Initiative to continue promoting the initiative, towards the goal of sustainable, high-quality development, contributing to improving people’s living standards, Xinhua reports.

The forum is scheduled to conclude on April 27 and issue a joint communiqué of the leaders’ roundtable.

Beijing hosted the first Belt and Road forum in May 2017 with participation from more than 100 countries, including 29 national leaders from countries such as Greece, Pakistan and Russia.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a reference to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was initiated by China in 2013 with the aim of enhancing all-around connectivity through infrastructure construction, exploring new driving forces for world economic growth, and building a new platform for world economic cooperation.