The Silk Road International Association (SRIA) was initiated by the International Finance Forum (IFF) on September 2nd, 2016 at the IFF Annual Meeting and officially inaugurated on June 17th, 2017, with the support from the United Nations (the U.N.), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Han Seung-soo, Kevin Rudd, Shaukat Aziz, Yukio Hatoyama, Jenny Shipley, HRH Prince Turki Bin Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Leung Chun-ying, Gu Shengzu, Jin Liqun and other former political leaders, scholars and major figures of financial institutions and enterprises from BRI countries.

SRIA is committed to building an open and interconnected global network. Through the Silk Road Spirit of "peace and co-operation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit", it unites international community, global market and private capital for building an effective cooperation and dialogue mechanism for the Silk Road.

The International Finance Forum (IFF) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental international organization founded in Beijing in October 2003, and established by leaders from over 20 countries, regions and international organizations including China, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations. IFF is a long-standing, high-level platform for dialogue and communication, and a research network in the financial realm. IFF aims to develop and encourage financial think-tanks within China and other emerging economies, and has been upgraded to F20 (Finance 20) status.