Belt and Road reaches out to the world

On Sep 7, 2013, at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, Xi raised the concept of the Silk Road Economic Belt, underlining the need to strengthen connectivity in policy, infrastructure, trade, finance and people-to-people exchanges.

The concepts of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road were later termed One Belt One Road before evolving into the Belt and Road Initiative.

The BRI aims to enhance Asia's interconnectivity with Europe, Africa and other continents along ancient trade routes, exploring new driving forces for world economic growth and building a new platform for world economic cooperation. The World Bank estimates that BRI economies account for one-third of global trade and GDP, as well as more than 60 percent of the world's population.

Marzuki said ASEAN member nations hold important positions on the BRI sea route.

For Indonesia, in particular, the country's Global Maritime Fulcrum policies can be synergized with the BRI. The Global Maritime Fulcrum vision, put forward by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, aims to take advantage of the island nation's geographical position to promote its strategic and economic development.

In addition to Indonesia, ASEAN members comprise Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar.