In 2013, the Chinese central government launched the "One-Belt-One-Road" (OBOR) strategy, which refers to the initiative of jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt, which links China with Europe through Central and Western Asia, and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which connects China with Southeast Asian countries, Africa, and Europe.
The objectives of the OBOR strategy are to promote economic prosperity of the countries along the belt and road and regional economic cooperation, to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning between different civilizations, and to promote world peace and development.
Bangladesh has increasingly been connected with the Chinese economy through trade, investment, and cultural exchanges during the last decade or so. Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), holds promises to deliver physical and soft infrastructure to foster connectivity and economic development across its corridors. For Bangladesh too, BRI provides an opportunity to seize benefits, particularly in areas of trade, investment, connectivity, education, and tourism, through strong ties with countries, particularly in the Southern Asian region.
The Belt and Road Research Center of Daffodil International University (DIU) will work on think tank academic research, international exchange of faculty and students, and the traing of stakeholders. The centre aims to produce many articles and books on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and hold forums and lectures related to the BRI.
The centre emphasizes to establish a global research network of think tanks on Belt and Road. It will closely cooperate with some research institutes in conducting research under Belt and Road initiative. To actively promote joint international research, it will establish several platforms with the think tank research centres in China.
The DIU Belt & Road Research Centre (DIUBRRC) aims to enhance the reseach and development of the Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship (FBE) by conducting research related to business, social and economic change, and provide a conducive platform for conducting high impact interdisciplinary research in the context of BRI.
The faculty members of the five departments under the Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship and the faculty members from other interested departments of DIU will conduct researches in various field under this platform. This synchronized research cooperation ensures the fruitful development and results of the latest research findings related to the economic development of the countries along the Belt and Road. It will also strive to create a platform for cultural exchange between China and countries along the Belt & Road so as to contribute to the implementation of the BRI.
DIU Belt and Road Research Center (DIUBRRC) aims to produce academic papers and enable the development of area-specific research topics on BRI. Some specific areas are mentiond below.