Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, delivers a speech at The First General Assembly of the Alliance in International Science Organization in the Belt and Road region organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Sunday. Photo: Zhang Hui/GT 

An alliance of international science organizations under the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative was established on Sunday, aiming at tackling major world scientific challenges.

President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the launch ceremony of the assembly on Sunday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xi said in the letter that promoting cooperation in science and technology among countries constituted an important part of building the Belt and Road and played a positive role in improving people's livelihood, promoting development and coping with common challenges.

The First General Assembly of the Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO) in the Belt and Road Region, organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has witnessed about 800 participants from worldwide science organizations.

ANSO is an international, non-profit and non-governmental scientific organization, focusing on the major scientific challenges such as ecological resources, climate change, environmental protection and public health.

ANSO tries to mobilize public and private sectors to jointly address diverse development challenges, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

ANSO has 36 founding members including Russia, Chile, Bangladesh, Belgium and Thailand as of October 30.

Qasim Jan, president of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times on the sidelines of the assembly on Sunday that the assembly was a wonderful initiative which pulled human expertise from a diverse background to address global problems, and these problems can be minimized through good science.

Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said during his speech on Sunday that emerging and reemerging infectious diseases are still a big issue for developing counties such as diarrheal diseases, respiratory infections and HIV/AIDS.

"Public health and diseases control are first in society's development," Gao said.

"Whenever you have diseases, you have zero development," Gao noted. (Global Times)