Ruto urges China to scale up cooperation with Africa

By Peter Ochieng

President William Ruto has urged China to scale up its cooperation with Africa, specifically by helping African countries access concessional funding for development.

According to a dispatch from State House, Nairobi, the President asked China to rally various stakeholders so as to double their contribution to multilateral development banks such as the International Development Association of the World Bank that offer developing countries low-interest concessional financing.

“This will enable more African countries to access concessional funding. It will support economies that are heavily affected,” said Ruto.

He asked China to support Africa’s call for reforms of the international financial system, which he said was unjust to many countries in the Global South, including Africa.

He called on China to work with Africa on “debt treatment”, and particularly re-profiling of debt to incorporate a longer grace period and longer tenure for existing and future financial financing.

He made the remarks during a meeting on the Belt and Road Initiative that he co-chaired with Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in Beijing.

The theme of the meeting was “Pursuing High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation: A Platform for Modernisation Featuring Planning, Building and Benefiting Together.”

“In Kenya, the Belt and Road Initiative has significantly enhanced productivity in both rural and urban areas by facilitating efficient mobility and market access, and creating new opportunities for women and youth,” said Ruto.

At the same time, President Ruto said Africa is keen on reforming the African Union (AU) in order to consolidate the continent’s voice, sharpen its vision and build greater consensus now and in the future.

“I urge all my colleagues to participate in this endeavour so as to position Africa’s perspective and ideas appropriately in global discourse,” he noted.

Others who spoke at the session were Presidents Adama Barrow of Gambia, Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi), Brice Oligui Nguema (Gabon), Mohamed Younes Menti (Libya), Al-Burhan Abdelrhman of Sudan and African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.