Group of Seven leaders on Sunday pledged to raise $600 billion in private and public funds over five years to finance needed infrastructure in developing countries and counter the multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road project. dollars in China.
US President Joe Biden and other G-7 leaders relaunched the new ‘Global Infrastructure and Investment Partnership’ at their annual gathering, held this year at Schloss Elmau in southern Italy. ‘Germany.
Biden said the United States would mobilize $200 billion in grants, federal funds and private investments over five years to support projects in low- and middle-income countries that help fight climate change as well as improve global health, gender equity and digital infrastructure.
“I want to be clear. This is not about aid or charity. This is an investment that will pay off for everyone,” Biden said, adding that it would allow countries to “see the concrete benefits of partnership with democracies.
Biden said hundreds of billions more could come from multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds and others.
Europe will mobilize 300 billion euros for the initiative over the same period to build a sustainable alternative to China’s Belt and Road program, which Chinese President Xi Jinping launched in 2013, the EU said. President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
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 taking part.
China’s investment plan involves development and programs in more than 100 countries aimed at creating a modern version of the ancient Silk Road trade route between Asia and Europe.
White House officials said the plan had brought little tangible benefit to many developing countries.
Biden highlighted several flagship projects, including a $2 billion solar development project in Angola with support from the Department of Commerce, the US Export-Import Bank, US-based AfricaGlobal Schaffer and the developer of American Sun Africa projects.
Working with G-7 members and the EU, Washington will also provide $3.3 million in technical assistance to the Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal as it develops a flexible multi-vaccine manufacturing facility in industrial scale in this country that will eventually be able to produce COVID-19 and other vaccines, a project that also involves the EU.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will also commit up to $50 million over five years to the World Bank’s Global Child Care Incentive Fund.
Friederike Roder, vice president of the nonprofit group Global Citizen, said the investment pledges could be “a good start” towards greater engagement by G-7 countries in developing countries and could support a stronger global growth for all.
G-7 countries spend on average just 0.32% of their gross national income, less than half of the promised 0.7%, on development assistance, she said.
“But without developing countries, there will be no sustainable recovery in the global economy,” she said.
