BEIRUT, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Thursday that the Belt and Road Initiative could lead his country down the road of "hope, stabilization and development."

Hariri was speaking at the opening of a Belt and Road conference held in the capital Beirut.

The conference was organized by the Fransbank Group and the Silk Road Chamber for International Commerce.

Hariri also lauded the Chinese-Lebanese relations, calling for joint efforts by private and public sectors in the two countries to promote bilateral relations.

Put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes.