BEIJING: Fifty-five cities from 17 countries will take part in the Silk Road Economic Belt Cities Cooperation and Development Forum in Urumqi , capital of China's Xinjiang province this month.During the forum, which will be held from July 23-25 in Urumqi, officials, academics and entrepreneurs from the cities will exchange development experience and explore cooperation in trade, industry, the Internet and infrastructure, according to the local government of Urumqi, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.Besides the 55 cities from countries including Britain, Germany, Russia and Afghanistan, the forum will also attract representatives from foreign embassies and consulates, Chinese embassies and consulates overseas, NGOs and foreign commerce chambers, it said.Urumqi will host the forum for the third time. The first and second were held in 2013 and 2014. The ancient Silk Road was a 7,000-km pathway created by camel-driving merchants who carried China's silk and porcelain to Western Europe and spices to the Far East 2,000 years ago.The land defined as the new Silk Road, covers 18 Asian and European countries with a combined population of about three billion people. President Xi Jinping proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt in 2013 as an overland network focused on boosting international trade and cooperation on infrastructure projects with Central, South and West Asian countries.