The Institute of Management and Leadership Development (IMLD) and the Belt and Road Strategic Research Centre (BRSRC) organised a talk on East-Central Europe (ECE) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) at Sungai Long Campus on 2 May 2018.
Dr Csaba Horvath giving his talk
Invited to deliver the talk was Dr Csaba Barnabas Horvath. He is an associate researcher at the MTA-ELTE-SZTE Silk Road Research Group since 2017. He was also the visiting researcher at the Penang Institute in Penang, Malaysiafor March and April 2018.
At his talk, Dr Csaba Horvath defined the patterns of ECE and explained the reason why the East-Central European region is interested in the BRI. He also explained how it acquired such a significant role in the initiative. He mentioned that the region was characterised by a high degree of ethnocultural, linguistic diversity and political fragmentation. It was divided among more than a dozen of small countries, where most of the countries being around or fewer than 10 million in population with the exception of Poland and Romania.
Showing the nationality map, he presented the geopolitical situation of the region and explained how the BRI redefines the historical position of the region. He also analysed the “16+1” cooperation, an initiative started in 2012 with the aim of enhancing trade and economic relations between China and 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, in the context of the bigger BRI initiative. He further explained the economic and political factors intertwined with its implementation.
“One Belt, One Road is seen as an opportunity to have the status of transit hubs instead of being a peripheral backwater. The region was strategically located as it was the entry point into the European Union, but so far the Chinese investment was relatively little,” said Dr Csaba Horvath in his conclusion.
The talk then ended with an interactive Q&A session, followed by a presentation of souvenir from BRSRC Chairperson-cum-IMLD Director Prof Dr Cheng Ming Yu to Dr Csaba Horvath.
Prof Cheng (left) presenting a token of appreciation to Dr Csaba Horvath
© 2019 UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN DU012(A).
Wholly owned by UTAR Education Foundation Co. No. 578227-M LEGAL STATEMENT TERM OF USAGE PRIVACY NOTICE