President Ruto urges China to increase concessional funding for African countries
President William Ruto has called on China to
scale up its cooperation with Africa by helping African countries access
concessional funding for development.
The President asked China to rally various
stakeholders to double their contribution to multilateral development banks
such as the International Development Association of the World Bank that offer
developing countries low-interest concessional financing.
“This will enable more African countries to
access concessional funding. It will support economies that are heavily
affected,” he said.
The President asked China to support Africa’s
call for reforms of the international financial system that, he said, was
unjust to many countries in the Global South, including Africa.
He called on China to work with Africa on
“debt treatment”, and particularly re-profiling of debt to incorporate a longer
grace period and longer tenure for existing and future financial financing.
President Ruto made the remarks during a
meeting on the Belt and Road Initiative that he co-chaired with Chinese
Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in
Beijing.
The theme of the meeting was “Pursuing
High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation: A Platform for Modernisation Featuring
Planning, Building and Benefiting Together.”
Others who spoke at the session were
Presidents Adama Barrow of Gambia, Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi), Brice Oligui
Nguema (Gabon), Mohamed Younes Menti (Libya) and Al-Burhan Abdelrhman of Sudan.
African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa
Faki Mahamat also contributed his thoughts at the event.
Other African Presidents and leaders attended
three other such sessions at the same time in separate venues.
President Ruto also called for reform of the
international credit rating and debt sustainability systems.
He also announced that African leaders will
be holding the first ever meeting to establish parameters for the proper
assessment of the continent’s assets and gross domestic product, and new
modalities for determining debt sustainability using Africa’s real wealth in
Congo Brazzaville next month.
The President said the unjust international
financial system has slowed down the development of Africa.
At the same time, President Ruto said Africa
is keen on reforming the African Union in order to consolidate the continent’s
voice, sharpen its vision and build greater consensus now and in the future.
He said the goal is to align the African
Union to make it fit for purpose, efficient and agile.
“I urge all my colleagues to participate in
this endeavour so as to position Africa’s perspective and ideas appropriately
in global discourse,” he said.
The President commended the cooperation
between China and Africa on transformative programmes, saying Africa needs a
robust foundation to achieve a radical turnaround.
He pointed out that this would be achieved
through the implementation of transformative programmes, citing the enhancement
of the continent’s connectivity through the development of essential
infrastructure.
President Ruto noted that, through the Belt
and Road Initiative and the Four Global Initiatives, the partnership between
China and Africa has helped African nations make significant strides towards
inclusive growth.
He noted that these initiatives are enhancing
Africa’s collective capacity to tackle complex global challenges, including
unemployment, poverty, climate change, inequality, conflict and instability.
“In Kenya, the Belt and Road Initiative has
significantly enhanced productivity in both rural and urban areas by
facilitating efficient mobility and market access, and creating new
opportunities for women and youth,” he said.
The President said the implementation of Belt
and Road projects is transforming African economies and spreading undeniable
investment and other opportunities in sectors such as finance, manufacturing
and agriculture.
“Consequently, this has promoted our continent’s
productive and competitive potential, and strengthened the partnership between
Africa and China,” he said.
He said the nine-project Trans-Africa Highway
Network which, together with the Great North Road, constitutes nearly 70,000km
of quality infrastructure, has radically intensified Africa’s transport
connectivity, leaving no country or region behind.
He said through Trans-Africa Highways 4 and
8, as well as the Great North Road, the BRI alone has significantly transformed
Kenya’s geostrategic profile.
He said this has made Kenya a global hub for
logistics, trade, investment, commerce, ICT, diplomacy and associated services.
President Ruto said the completion of
complementary projects like the Standard Gauge Railway will not only connect
major oceans and relieve the logistical burden on the road transport network,
but also enhance regional as well as Pan-African integration and radically open
up the continent’s investment opportunities.
“In addition, these projects will hasten its
emergence as the green global industrial hub in coming years,” he added.
Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping said
his country will work with Africa to achieve its modernisation goals.
President Xi announced a 10-point partnership
action plan for Africa for the next three years. These include modernisation of
industrialisation, agriculture, trade, investment, training and infrastructure;
access of Africa’s goods to the Chinese market; 30 infrastructure connectivity
projects and development cooperation comprising 1,000 livelihood projects.
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