(10th Anniversary of the "the Belt and Road") Interview with African Infrastructure Expert Mohamed: The "the Belt and Road" Infrastructure Project is Changing Africa | One Belt | Africa
China news agency, Hong Kong, September 17, by wire: Exclusive interview with African infrastructure expert Mohamed: "the Belt and Road" infrastructure project is changing Africa
China News Agency reporter Han Xingtong
Mohammed, the housing strategy policy research and partner manager of the African Housing Organization, received an exclusive interview from the China News Agency on the day after the opening of the eighth "the Belt and Road" Summit Forum in Hong Kong. For two days in a row, he stayed in the conference room to listen to the sharing of government officials and business leaders from all over the world, and from it to think about the changes brought about by the "the Belt and Road" initiative in the past decade and beyond for the co construction of countries, especially Africa.
Mohammed from Kenya is an expert in infrastructure construction. He initially felt the impact of the "the Belt and Road Initiative" was the construction of the railway network. "I once took the Aka Railway from the Nigerian capital Abuja to the northern city of Kaduna, and I did see the impact of effective infrastructure on promoting urban connectivity, investment and trade."
The Aka Railway mentioned by Mohammad is the first section of the modernization project of the Nepal Railway undertaken by China Civil Engineering Group Co., Ltd. It was officially put into operation in 2016. With the opening of the Lai Yi Railway in 2021, the railway network in Nigeria has once again expanded. This railway connects the economic center of Lagos and the industrial hub of Ibadan in the southwest, with a total length of about 157 kilometers for the main line and about 7 kilometers for the branch line. It adopts modern railway standards and is designed for a speed of 150 kilometers per hour.
In Mohammad's view, the improvement of infrastructure is changing Nigeria, promoting interconnectivity and trade between African countries, and accelerating regional integration. "This facilitates the flow of people and goods, which in turn brings more employment opportunities and economic activities." In addition to these obvious benefits, Mohammad also mentioned the "softer" impact, which is an opportunity for Africans to approach and understand Chinese culture, including the artificial intelligence technology used in stations.
When it comes to Chinese culture, Muhammad enthusiastically shared his exploration journey in Hong Kong. He came to Hong Kong through the "Asian Global Scholars" program organized by the Hong Kong Institute of Asian Studies. "This is a vibrant and bustling city. Hong Kong is also very international, where you can meet people from different backgrounds and nationalities. It's like a cultural melting pot."
Mohammed believes that the advantage of Hong Kong under the "the Belt and Road" initiative is not only that it is a "gateway" to the mainland of China, but also that it maintains close ties with various countries and regions. At the same time, it also has the characteristics of a convergence of East and West, and can provide globally recognized first-class services in finance, logistics, innovation, law and other aspects. After all, promoting the construction of the "the Belt and Road" requires multi-party cooperation, and Hong Kong's role as a bridge can play a greater role.
There is no doubt that the "the Belt and Road" has successfully established investment and long-term development links for Asia, Europe and Africa in the past decade, but there are also major challenges that are difficult to solve in the region, such as climate change and environmental governance, which Mohammed believes can be further strengthened in the future.
He mentioned that Libya has been hit by floods caused by Hurricane Daniel recently. "We have all seen the impact of climate change, which indicates that we need to provide infrastructure to adapt to climate change and cooperate with the strengthening of social governance." This depends on effective cooperation among countries and regions in the region and the establishment of win-win partnerships.
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