BEIJING: Grégoire Ndjaka, CEO of the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB), highly praised the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for bringing tangible development and changes to the African continent. He made the remarks at the 11th Global Video Media Forum, which was held in Beijing on Thursday to mark the 10th anniversary of the BRI. China proposed the BRI 10 years ago, and cooperation on the initiative has yielded fruitful results. The country has so far signed more than 200 BRI cooperation agreements with 151 countries and 32 international organizations. Evolved from a Chinese proposal to a global consensus, the joint construction of the BRI has connected the world, making mountains no longer high and roads no longer long, Shen Haixiong, vice minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and president of China Media Group (CMG), said at the forum. As an important outcome of the forum, CMG and 81 media organizations in 42 countries issued a Declaration on Joint Action to global media organizations. Strengthen collaboration The declaration called on all media entities to uphold the principles of openness, inclusivity, mutual benefit and cooperation and share media resources, experiences and technologies. It added that all parties should enhance personnel interaction, deepen media cooperation and tell the story of the Silk Road together. To promote media cooperation, the Global Partner Program and the Middle East Media Alliance cooperation mechanism, initiated by a news agency under the CMG, was launched, in which 18 media organizations from nine Middle Eastern countries were included. Existing media cooperation has produced multiple results. At the forum, a documentary, “The Call of the Silk Road,” which focuses on 14 countries jointly building the Belt and Road, was released. A global short video showcase event demonstrating touching stories of the Belt and Road, which kicked off in April, was released. China has expressed determination to make the BRI a “belt of development” to the benefit of the world and a “road to happiness” for people of all countries. Also, a total of 50 multilingual programs translated by the CMG have aroused strong resonance in participating countries. Additionally, a customized service platform for global media, All Media Service Platform, expanded new channels and promoted mutual learning among civilizations with over 1,000 media agencies. Innovative cooperation models As an important aspect, the declaration states that all media parties should harness collective expertise to create a platform for dialogue and exchange that transcends geographical limitations and cultural differences and addresses developmental needs. “We will not only drive media convergence and innovation, but also contribute to address global issues, such as climate change, food security, and energy scarcity while jointly exploring solutions to our own development challenges,” according to the declaration. Kora Nou, president of the Pacific Islands News Association, said that the news agency is willing to seize the opportunities provided by the BRI and strengthen cooperation with CMG in content, technology and digital technology so as to build a more interconnected world.