New Silk Road to eradicate terrorism: Erdoğan

China’s Belt and Road initiative to re-create the Silk Road will help defeat terrorism, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said May 14, adding that Turkey would lend all manner of support to the project, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

"This initiative, particularly against rising terrorism in the world, will be an initiative that will almost eradicate terrorism. I believe this cooperation which will benefit everyone will succeed as a model. We, as Turkey, are ready to give all kinds of support for it,” Erdoğan said at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.

 "I believe that this initiative, also called the New Silk Road, will mark the future in an effort to link Asia, Europe, Africa and even South America,” he added.
    
Erdoğan said the New Silk Road initiative was a very important project covering more than 60 countries and almost 4.5 billion people in the world.

The Belt and Road Initiative was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013.  
     
According to China’s official Xinhua news agency, the goal of the initiative is to build a trade and infrastructure network along ancient trade routes such as the Silk Road that will connect Asia with Europe, Africa and beyond.
 
Noting that the success of the project "depends on the route countries’ facilitation of trade, cooperation in the customs field, removal of non-tariffs barriers and promotion of investments,” Erdoğan said permitting the usage of national funds by route countries would deepen the financial integration of the project. 

Erdoğan also noted the importance of comprehensive cultural cooperation in the fields of tourism, science, technology and the media, as well as increased student and personnel exchange programs, in achieving the road’s goals.