CIDCA vice-chairman delivers remarks at high-level dialogue marking fifth anniversary of GDI

A high-level dialogue marking the fifth anniversary of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) was held on Sept 25 by China at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Zhao Fengtao, vice-chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), attended the event and delivered remarks at its outcomes showcase session.

Zhao said that over the past five years, the GDI has built extensive international consensus, pooled the strength of partners, refined its implementation mechanisms and yielded substantial and practical outcomes. He said that it is imperative to further advance the initiative to better support the sustainable development agenda of the UN.

Zhao emphasized that China will uphold true multilateralism and firmly support the UN in playing a central role in international affairs. He said that China will back UN agencies in carrying out more cooperation projects in countries that join the Group of Friends of the GDI.

Zhao emphasized that China is committed to a development-first approach and advancing the four global initiatives in a coordinated way. He underscored that China calls on the international community to stay focused on the development agenda, jointly scale up investment in development resources, and continuously deepen South-South, North-South, tripartite and multilateral cooperation, so as to safeguard peace and security, advance exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and improve global governance through development.

Zhao emphasized that China will improve supporting mechanisms and optimize models for development cooperation. He highlighted that China will continue to refine the development project pool and capital pool, and make full use of institutional platforms, such as the network of the Global Development Promotion Center, a multilateral cooperation platform built by the CIDCA under the framework of the GDI. In this way, China will capitalize on various methods to help other developing countries to pursue self-reliant development, he said.

Zhao noted that guided by the people-centered philosophy of development, China will push forward both landmark flagship projects and “small yet smart” livelihood initiatives. He said that China will focus on both traditional and emerging sectors and will improve project quality and effectiveness to ensure that the fruits of cooperation benefit people of all countries in a more equitable and inclusive manner.

Fu Cong, permanent representative of China to the UN, presided over the outcomes showcase session. More than 300 representatives from over 60 countries and 20 international organizations, including ministerial-level officials from more than 30 nations, were present at the event.

The participants spoke highly of the positive results delivered by the GDI over the past five years. They noted that the initiative has evolved into an important platform for the advancement of global development cooperation, injecting strong momentum into the drive of achieving the sustainable development goals.

They expressed readiness to deepen development cooperation with China and practice multilateralism together to advance the implementation of the GDI and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.