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Over the past decade, advancing the joint construction of the Belt and Road has injected momentum into the economic growth of participating countries , generating universal opportunities for shared prosperity, said Dr. Palitha Kohona, former Sri Lankan ambassador to China in an exclusive interview with Guangming Online.

Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to sign on to the BRI. Kohona noted that driven by the initiative, a large number of bilateral cooperation projects have been implemented in Sri Lanka, providing indispensable support for the country's economic development and improvement of people's livelihoods.

The Hambantota Port and the Columbo Port City are two flagship projects of China-Sri Lanka cooperation under the BRI. The former is seeing bustling shipping logistics, with approximately 35,000 ships passing through it each year. "The futures looks good for Hambantota. It could one day become the main distribution hub in the region, contributing considerably to the development of Sri Lanka," Kohona said.

Meanwhile, the Colombo Port City will continue creating a large number of direct and indirect job opportunities for the local community, hence boosting employment and improving lives of the people of Sri Lanka, he said.

Speaking of BRI’s influence on the participating countries, Kohona pointed out that thanks to BRI investments, many participating countries have built such infrastructure as power plants, high-speed railways, and airports. "The BRI hopes to achieve shared prosperity. I think the target is being achieved, it will be achieved, and the BRI is big enough for that".

We hope that all countries will benefit from the initiative, Kohona said. “It will be good for humanity. And we're looking forward to the dream, the objective of a world of shared prosperity.”