The highway connecting Kampala and Entebbe International Airport in Uganda is built under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (LIN ZHIKUN)

The highway connection Kampala and Entebbe International Airport in Uganda built under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative LIN ZHIKUN

The Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in April was an opportunity for many African heads of state, along with their global counterparts, to gather and further the integration of this forward thinking international initiative.

The Belt and Road Initiative has emerged as the premier platform to develop much needed infrastructure across Africa, buoyed by the driving force of the projects introduced through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Countless examples are available of the initiative's tangible footprint across the continent, from the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway linking Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to the Red Sea port of Djibouti, to the Maputo-Katembe Suspension Bridge, the longest of its kind on the African continent and the vital water conservation projects to boost agricultural output in Burkina Faso.

One of the most empowering aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative in Africa is the industrial zone that has already begun to spring up across East Africa. These revenue generators are well placed to provide much needed employment, as well as attract streams of foreign direct investment from China and other international sources. By manufacturing products on site for export, the zones will also play an enormous role in leveling the imbalance of trade between African countries and the international community, which in return puts money back into local economies.

These and other infrastructure projects are of great assistance to make Africa's industrialization ambitions a reality and it must be noted that the Belt and Road Initiative aligns well with Africa's own development strategies. These include the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, the continent's blueprint for transforming Africa into a global powerhouse, and the New Partnership for Africa's Development, the AU's economic development program that aims to provide an overarching vision and policy framework for boosting economic cooperation and integration among African nations.

But more than just infrastructure. The Belt and Initiative is also about connections - both connecting people with infrastructure and connecting people with each other. Whether it be through exchanging skills in areas of agriculture and the arts or language and technology, the Belt and Road Initiative provides people with opportunities previously only dreamed about. It's the concept of connectivity in all aspects of human interaction, promoting an inclusive world that is the polar opposite to protectionism promoted by some Western countries.

(Comments to niyanshuo@chinafrica.cn)