Exclusive Interview｜Global Development Initiative promotes putting development at the center of the international agenda - Interview with Andrabi, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations Office in Geneva

Xinhua News Agency, Geneva, October 11th. Exclusive interview | Global Development Initiative promotes putting development at the center of the international agenda - Interview with Andrabi, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations Office at Geneva

Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Lu and Ma Ruxuan

In a recent exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency, Andrabi, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations Office in Geneva, said that in the five years since its launch, the Global Development Initiative has played a key role in promoting multilateralism and South-South cooperation, and has promoted development to be placed at the center of the international agenda.

Andrabi said the timing of the global development initiative is extremely important. Once marginalized on the global agenda, economic development has now been placed back at the center of the international agenda, an important contribution of global development initiatives. In the past five years, more than 1,800 "small but beautiful" cooperation projects have been implemented under this initiative. They have received support and participation from more than 130 countries and international organizations. They have been implemented in more than 120 countries and mobilized more than 23 billion US dollars in funds.

Andrabi said that the Global Development Initiative and the "One Belt, One Road" initiative reinforce each other. The latter effectively promotes global connectivity, while the former responds to the development concerns of countries around the world. The world, especially some developing countries, still has a long way to go to meet people's needs and achieve sustainable development goals. The global development initiative is an important initiative to promote the solution of development deficit.

Talking about cooperation between Pakistan and China, Andrabi said that global development initiatives promote multilateralism, South-South cooperation and promote inclusive development. Pakistan and China have carried out important economic cooperation. As the flagship project of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has made important progress in the fields of energy and transportation infrastructure construction in the first phase. The second phase will focus on high-tech development and employment promotion.

“We believe that the Global Development Initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative will further enrich development cooperation channels between Pakistan and China within the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,” he said.

Andrabi spoke highly of the Global Development Initiative seminar held by the Chinese Permanent Mission in Geneva, and looked forward to the technological dividends that new platforms such as the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization established in Shanghai this year will bring to developing countries. He believes that these important platforms are conducive to information sharing and also enable countries to find the convergence between their own development priorities and global development initiatives.

Andrabi said there are huge opportunities in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and robotics. Global development initiatives provide opportunities for developing countries to access and apply these technologies, thereby converting technological potential into direct benefits, and Pakistan will continue to support and participate in these efforts.