The G7 Global Infrastructure and Investment Partnership will help fund infrastructure projects in developing countries.
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) have pledged $ 600 billion in private and public funding over five years to fund infrastructure in developing countries and counter China’s older, multi-trillion Belt One Road project.
US President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders renewed the newly renamed “Global Infrastructure and Investment Partnership” on Sunday at their annual meeting, which took place this year at the Schloss Elmau in southern Germany.
“Developing countries often do not have the basic infrastructure to help them deal with global shocks, such as a pandemic, so they feel the impact more sharply and find it harder to recover,” Biden said.
“This is not just a humanitarian problem, but an economic and security concern for all of us.
The United States, he said, will mobilize $ 200 billion in grants, federal funds and private investment over five years to support projects in low- and middle-income countries that help tackle climate change and improving global health, gender equality and digital infrastructure.
“I want to be clear. This is not help or charity. It is an investment that will bring a return for all, “Biden said, adding that it would allow countries to” see the concrete benefits of partnering with democracies. “
Biden said hundreds of billions of extra dollars could come from multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, government funds and more.
Europe will mobilize 300 billion euros ($ 317 billion) for the same period initiative to build a sustainable alternative to China’s One Belt, One Road scheme launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, European Commission President said Ursula von der Leyen in front of the audience.
The leaders of Italy, Canada and Japan also spoke about their plans, some of which have already been announced separately. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were not present, but their countries are also present.
China’s investment scheme includes development and programs in more than 100 countries aimed at creating a modern version of the ancient Silk Road trade route from Asia to Europe.
White House officials said the plan provided little tangible benefits to many developing countries and trapped recipient countries with debts and investments that benefited China more than their hosts.
Biden highlighted several flagship projects, including a $ 2 billion solar development project in Angola with the support of the Department of Commerce, the US Export-Import Bank, AfricaGlobal Schaffer and US developer Sun Africa.
Together with members of the G7 and the European Union, Washington will also provide $ 3.3 million in technical assistance to the Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal as it develops an industrial, flexible facility for the production of many vaccines in the country, which could eventually to produce COVID-19 and other vaccines, a project that includes the EU.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will also provide up to $ 50 million over five years to the World Bank’s Global Fund for Child Care.
Friedrich Roder, vice president of the non-profit group Global Citizen, said investment promises could be a “good start” for greater G7 engagement in developing countries and could support stronger global growth. for everyone.
The G-7 countries provide an average of just 0.32% of their gross national income – less than half of the promised 0.7% – in development aid, she said.
“But without developing countries, there will be no sustainable recovery of the world economy,” she said.
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