Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director General Jose Graziano da Silva speaks during a news conference after his visit to Chad and IDP areas, in Maiduguri, Nigeria April 7, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING - The chief of United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Saturday that the Belt and Road Initiative is all about sustainable development and should therefore be connected to the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.

Jose Graziano da Silva, the FAO director-general, told Xinhua in Beijing that the Belt and Road Initiative focuses on not only trade and investment, but also on strengthening partnerships, preserving culture and achieving sustainable development.

He said the ancient Silk Road existed long ago, but the Belt and Road Initiative is "a kind of revival of trade between countries" along the route.

He said the initiative will become a new model of cooperative development.

Graziano was invited to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation from May 14 to 15 in Beijing. He said the initiative is welcomed by more and more countries and international organizations, as more and more "important agencies" have accepted the invitation to the meeting."

During the two-day forum, he will focus on South-South cooperation, the development of rural areas and agriculture as well as food security and food safety.

"I think South-South cooperation is the key to the Belt and Road Initiative, and we need to work to promote this model," he said.