Opinions & Interviews

Belarus FM: China shows exemplary leadership amid global turbulence

MINSK, 20 September (BelTA) - China demonstrates exemplary leadership amid global turbulence, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Aleinik said at a a high-level meeting on the Global Development Initiative outcomes in New York on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, BelTA has learned.

“In the current global turbulence that threatens to sideline the 2030 Agenda, China is demonstrating exemplary global leadership by supporting countries in need to help them realize the agenda in full and on time. That is the great vision of the great power. This is how we in Belarus assess China's Global Development Initiative, launched by President Xi Jinping two years ago. It is no exaggeration to say that China has repeatedly surprised the world with its successes,” Sergei Aleinik said.

According to the minister, the world was able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 largely due to China's success in lifting 800 million people out of poverty over the past decade. Similarly, it was thanks to the campaign launched by the Chinese leadership in 2013 that the country completely eliminated absolute poverty in just eight years - by 2021.

“We have no doubt that China's initiatives, such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative, will be as successful as its domestic development campaigns. Belarus welcomed the launch of the Global Development Initiative in 2021 and seeks to take advantage of the benefits offered under the initiative,” the minister of foreign affairs said.

Belarus immediately joined the Group of Friends of the initiative and is closely following its development.

Earlier this year, the country also joined the network of the Global Development Promotion Center, the most important component of the initiative, which serves as a platform for its implementation.

“We are confident that the Global Development Initiative will contribute to the further achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, the establishment of a multipolar world and help eliminate the use of illegal unilateral coercive measures that seriously impede poverty eradication, food security and affect many other areas of the SDGs,” the diplomat said.

The Global Development Initiative was announced by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in September 2021 during a speech at the UN General Assembly. The initiative is one of China's key foreign policy initiatives. Soon after the initiative was announced, China began to develop mechanisms for its implementation.

Back in 2021, the Group of Friends of the Initiative was established, which includes about 60 states today. Belarus was among the first countries to join the group. In September 2022, a ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends was held in New York under the chairmanship of Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi.

The Global Development Promotion Center and the Global Development Center Network were established in Beijing. The latter mechanism includes focal points from the member countries of the Group of Friends of the initiative. The Initiative has launched dozens of projects, mainly in least developed countries. The projects are financed by China through two UN funds - the Peace and Development Trust Fund and the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund.

print version

make home page

add to bookmarks