President Biden on Saturday promised a massive injection of American taxpayer dollars into railroads and green infrastructure in Asia and Africa in a bid to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s multibillion-dollar influence effort.
“This is a big deal,” Biden said at the G20 summit in New Delhi, India. “This is really important.”
The White House pledged more than $1 billion in U.S. funding (and much more to come) during Biden’s meetings with the leaders of India, the European Union, Saudi Arabia and others representing the world’s largest economies.
At the top of Biden’s agenda was a plan to create a new rail and sea corridor that would connect India to Europe through the Middle East via the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Israel.
The White House did not provide details on funding or timelines for the massive project, which will add power and data cables along the rails, G20 leaders said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted Biden as he arrived at the G20 meetings in New Delhi.POOL/AFP via Getty Images
But Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman floated a figure of $20 billion during the announcement, without specifying who was expected to pay.
A separate “Trans-African Corridor” rail project, also announced by the group and led by the United States and the EU, would link the port of Lobito, Angola, with copper and rare earth mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, crucial materials. . for electric cars and other technologies necessary for the world to stop consuming fossil fuels.
Biden touted the potential African rail system as a “game-changing regional investment.”
“Both are huge, huge steps forward,” the Amtrak-loving president enthused.
Biden joked with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during the two-day summit.Getty Images
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the Biden administration pledged more than $1.1 billion in U.S. funding for projects in India and Mozambique aimed at advancing Democrats’ green agenda.
The U.S. Development Finance Corporation will send up to $425 million in financing to TP Solar Limited for a new solar energy facility in Tamil Nadu, India, along with up to $500 million to launch a “renewable infrastructure investment fund.” ” in India and $150 million for a graphite mining company in Mozambique.
The DFC, a taxpayer-funded federal agency, will also lend $50 million to an Indian pharmaceutical company to produce “insulin biosimilars,” a diabetes treatment that has not yet won approval from the Food and Drug Administration. USA.
“This is about creating jobs, increasing trade, strengthening supply chains, boosting connectivity, laying the foundation that will strengthen trade and food security for people in multiple countries,” Biden said during his prepared remarks.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn