In news- Recently, the European Commission announced a plan to mobilise €300 billion ($340 billion) in public and private infrastructure investment around the world.
About the initiative-
- It is the new European Strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport and strengthen health, education and research systems across the world.
- It is about increasing investments promoting democratic values and high standards, good governance and transparency, equal partnerships, green and clean, secure infrastructures and that catalyse private sector investment.
- The initiative aims at mobilising investments of up to 300 billion euros between 2021 and 2027 bringing together resources of the EU, member states, European financial institutions , private sectors and national development finance institutions.
- It is an offshoot of a plan by G7 countries to offer developing countries an alternative to the Belt and Road Initiative of China, presented in June at the industrial powers’ summit in Cornwall.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)-
- Formerly known as One Belt One Road (OBOR), it is the global development strategy initiated by the Government of China involving infrastructural development and direct investments in many countries across the continents of Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas.
- It was announced in 2013 by China’s President Xi Jinping.
- BRI aims to develop land and sea infrastructure to better connect China to Asia, Europe and Africa for trade and development.
- BRI’s goals include internal state-building and stabilisation of ethnic unrest for its vast inland western regions such as Xinjiang and Yunnan, linking these less developed regions, with increased flows of international trade facilitating closer economic integration with China’s inland core
- The project has a target completion date of 2049, which will coincide with the centennial anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s founding.
- The BRI projects comprise $4 trillion of promised investments in 65 countries representing 70 percent of the world’s population, 55 percent of its GNP, and 75 percent of its energy reserves.
Source: The Hindu
