A two-day international conference opened here on Friday to discuss the promotion of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

The meeting, organized by Nanyang Technological University (NTU), gathered more than 250 academics, government officials and business leaders from Singapore, China, Thailand, Malaysia, among others.

At the opening ceremony, Liu Hong, director of NTU's Nanyang Centre for Public Administration (NCPA), called for discussions about how Singapore can "facilitate exchanges and connectivity" through collaborations with China and other countries on the Belt and Road Initiative.

Singapore's role in the initiative "goes beyond its conventional status as a global financial and trade hub," but as a connector between China and Southeast Asia, "for not only business opportunities, but knowledge exchange and building human capital for the benefit for all," Liu said.

On Friday, NCPA officially launched its Lien Research Programme on Belt and Road Initiative, which focuses on policy-oriented topics such as the Sino-Singapore relationship, cross-border philanthropy and social sector governance, and elder and palliative care.