Prodi calls on world leaders to grasp burgeoning opportunities

Romano Prodi, a former two-time prime minister of Italy, said the Belt and Road Initiative will change the lives of half the global population in the coming decades.

He urged global leaders to grasp the opportunities the initiative will offer when they meet at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing at the weekend.

"This is a very important meeting, which will signal a green light from Beijing that the countries that have agreed to participate in the initiative can get down to business," he said, speaking in an exclusive interview with China Daily in Rome.