The Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) held a forum on enhancing Chinese-African partnership under the Belt and Road Initiative amid international and regional developments, in cooperation with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
The forum, held on Thursday, brought together experts, specialists and academics from Egypt and China.
In his opening remarks, IDSC Chairman Osama El-Gohary said the international system is undergoing major changes, with growing competition among global powers extending to trade, technology, supply chains, finance and infrastructure.
He said the Belt and Road Initiative is gaining importance as a framework not only for infrastructure and trade connectivity, but also as a way for Global South countries to diversify partnerships and support their development goals.
El-Gohary said African countries are increasingly seeking a greater role in the international system, moving from recipients of external policies to partners with their own priorities and choices.
He also highlighted efforts to strengthen collective bargaining power and co-ordination in multilateral forums.
He said the success of Chinese-African cooperation should not be measured only by financing or the number of projects, but also by their ability to create local economic value, strengthen national capabilities, support industrialisation and African integration, and promote sustainable and inclusive development.
He called for broader co-operation in joint manufacturing, renewable energy, the digital economy and artificial intelligence, agriculture, food security, scientific research, technical education and skills development.
Director and professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Shen Guilong, said co-operation with the IDSC has continued for years.
He added that the two sides are preparing a memorandum of understanding to strengthen knowledge and expertise exchange.
Shen said the Belt and Road Initiative is gaining importance amid global challenges and expressed confidence in further growth in China-Africa relations based on shared interests and needs.
