"One Belt, One Road" (BRI)

September 8, 2023, Addis Ababa - Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Ethiopia, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the African Union Barlybay Sadykov took part in a high-level seminar in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the participation of the leadership of the African Union and the Mission of the People's Republic of China to the African Union.

Head of the Chinese Mission to the African Union, Hu Changchun, opening the seminar, said that over the past decade, the BRI has opened a new direction for China-Africa cooperation and established a model for building a community with a shared future in a new era.

The African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, Mr. Albert Muchanga, noted that the BRI is a landmark program of international development cooperation. "With this support, we are developing the “Made in Africa” standard, which will contribute significantly to the high standards of agricultural production and processing, as well as the removal of technical barriers to trade in the African Continental Free Trade Area," - he said.

 The African Union and the Chinese Mission to the African Union pledged to further deepen cooperation within the framework of the initiative to achieve mutually beneficial results.

For Kazakhstan, it is very symbolic that the "One Belt, One Road" initiative was put forward by President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and was first voiced during his speech in Astana as part of his state visit to Kazakhstan since September 2013. China is one of Kazakhstan's largest trading partners. China is one of Kazakhstan's largest trading partners. The trade turnover between the countries in 2022 exceeded 24 billion US dollars. Strengthening the transit potential is a priority for Kazakhstan, as Kazakhstan is the most important land corridor between Asia and Europe and a transit and transport hub of global importance.

 

For reference: "One Belt, One Road" (BRI) is an initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, under which China has signed cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations. More than 3,000 cooperation projects have been created and almost $1 trillion of investments have been mobilized.