Beijing, July — China hosted the High-level Meeting on the Global Development Initiative (GDI) in Beijing on Tuesday, five years after the initiative was launched, bringing together UN officials and diplomats from across the globe to renew momentum for common development.
Convened under the theme “GDI at Five Years: Joining Hands for a Brighter Future of Sustainable Development,” the meeting was attended by senior UN system and diplomatic envoys from the Group of Friends of the GDI to explore united efforts for shared progress.
Noting that more than 130 countries and international organizations now support the initiative, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reaffirmed in his keynote speech at the meeting that China is committed to advancing the initiative.
“Looking to the future, regardless of how the international situation changes, China will continue to play the role of a responsible major country, closely link its own development with the common development of all countries and act as a promoter and contributor to global development,” Wang said.
He added that in the current volatile and intertwined international situation, the contemporary significance of the GDI has become even more prominent, and all parties must continue to hold high the banner of development and firmly promote the alignment of the GDI with the United Nations development agenda.
Wang called for enhancing unity and cooperation and creating a peaceful development environment; pooling efforts for action and accelerating the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; promoting openness and mutual learning and strengthening the engine of innovative development; and practicing multilateralism and improving the global governance system.
Stephen Jackson, UN Resident Coordinator in China, said the GDI serves as a vital pillar supporting the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“The leadership of the UN has really welcomed the GDI as a very significant contribution to getting sustainable development back on track globally. Our deputy secretary general referred to the GDI as a welcome necessity, because without contributions of this kind, like the contribution that the GDI makes, we’re in a lot of trouble trying to make it to that really ambitious rendezvous with destiny that is 2030,” he said.
Indonesian Ambassador to China Djauhari Oratmangun singled out China’s recent launch of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) as an example of an initiative that can benefit equitable development across the globe.
“In particular, not only he mentioned about the cooperation that’s already well established，but new dimension is being introduced as well because of the establishment of the WAICO only like a few days ago in Shanghai to closing the gap between developed and developing countries on artificial intelligence,” he said.(Namibia Daily News / CCTV)
