Interview: Belt and Road helps Latin America to achieve UN 2030 agenda, says ECLAC official

by Dang Qi and Zhu Yubo

BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) facilitates the compliance with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the realization of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America, said a senior official of a UN body based in Latin America.

Mario Cimoli, deputy executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the caribbean (ECLAC), made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua.

Also as chief of the division of production, productivity and management of ECLAC, Cimoli has arrived in Beijing to participate in the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on April 25-27.

So far, 18 Latin American countries have signed the Memorandum of Understanding on jointly building the Belt and Road cooperation with China.

"The countries in Latin America view China as a fundamental actor," he said. "The fact that 18 Latin American countries have joined the Belt and Road Initiative means that these countries think that China is necessary and China is also aware of the importance of dialogue. It's a historical process."

In his opinion, the BRI makes "greater integration, greater multilateralism and more dialogue" possible and "does good to Latin America."

He said that both the 2030 Agenda and the BRI seek sustainable development and reduction of inequality and poverty, without contradicting with the proper model of each country.

"Given that the growth rates of Latin America will not be very high for the next few years, a rational process of cooperation such as the Belt and Road will surely help the region and allow each country to seek and improve their model of development and growth," the ECLAC official said.

The BRI is a much more horizontal dialogue, a platform, in that sense that it is a process that helps and allows a much more positive coexistence despite current global tensions, he said.

In the dialogue with China, Latin America can demonstrate the importance of being an integrated area of trade, policies, and infrastructures in order to trade better with Asia, he said.

Cimoli also affirmed that the incorporation of new technologies in Latin America is a course under discussion, and dialogue with China can accelerate and improve the process.

Cimoli said his one observation of his ongoing China trip is the extensive use of electronic commerce among ordinary people.

He said when he went out to buy something, he found almost everyone use e-payments.

The way in which technologies immerge into the daily life of Chinese citizens is an example and would be a valuable contribution of China to the world and especially to Latin America, Cimoli said.

"The example of China shows the role that a state should play to trigger the technological development. In this dialogue with China, Latin America surely has to learn from the pragmatism of China," he said.

The ECLAC official mentioned that China invests over 2 percent of its GDP in science and technology, while the average investment of Latin American countries in the field is between 0.4 and 0.5 percent of its GDP, plus, it appears to be swaying instead of stable state policies.

"There is a lot of cooperation to be done, much experience to be shared and much a platform for dialogue like the Belt and Road Initiative could do," said Cimoli.