Aleinik on China’s GDI: a great vision of a great power

At a time of the current global turbulence that threatens to sideline the 2030 Agenda, China is demonstrating an exceptional global leadership by providing support to countries in need to help them implement the Agenda in full and on time – as stated by Belarus’ Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik during a high-level meeting on the results of co-operation within the framework of the Global Development Initiative (GDI), which took place on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York

Sergei Aleinik noted during his speech that this is a great vision of a great power, “This is how we in Belarus view China’s GDI, put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping two years ago. It would not be an exaggeration to say that China has on a number of occasions pleasantly surprised the world with its stories of successful development. Indeed, it was overwhelmingly due to China’s success in lifting 800 million people out of poverty in the last decade that the world was able to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Likewise, it was due to the campaign launched by China’s leadership in 2013 that the country totally eliminated absolute poverty in just 8 years – by 2021. We have no doubt whatsoever that China’s initiatives, like the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative, will be as successful as its domestic development campaigns.”

During his speech, Sergei Aleinik noted that Belarus had welcomed the launch of the GDI in 2021 and seeks to benefit from it, “We have at once joined the Group of Friends of the Initiative and have been closely following how the Initiative was evolving. Earlier this year we have joined the Network of the Global Development Promotion Centre, a vital component of the Initiative that serves as a platform for its implementation. As a follow up to the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of the GDI, that was held in September 2022 in New York, we began working with our Chinese partners on some specific thematic projects, which will undoubtedly help advance our national efforts in achieving the SDGs.”