More than three weeks now, the UK hosted the 47th G7 summit announced to jointly work on Biden’s initiative “Build Back Better World (B3W),” which is outlined in a 70-point “Carbis Bay G7 Summit Communiqué.” Apparently, the Communiqué speaks of the post-Covid-19 agenda that would bridge and support the lags the pandemic created for over a year and keep snagging the nations of their progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 70th and the last point stated, “In Cornwall we have revitalised our G7 partnership. Our Shared Agenda for Global Action is a statement of our shared vision and ambition as we continue to collaborate this year and under future Presidencies. As we do so, we look forward to joining with others to ensure we build back better, in particular at the G20 Summit, COP26, and CBD15 and the UN General Assembly, and reiterate our support for the holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 in a safe and secure manner as a symbol of global unity in overcoming COVID-19.”
The Communiqué also mentions China’s progressive interventions that make the recent G7 summit declaration a bit more political than a post-Covid-19 agenda. The experts are still trying to figure out the length and breadth of the B3W and its objectives beyond the political perceptions. Mainly, the B3W is being considered an initiative to challenge China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has been signed by 140 countries, including seven from the African continent. The B3W shall be considered too late if it is designed to challenge the BRI–the eight-year-old brainchild of President Xi Jinping, which has an elaborate scope and mandate to develop rail and road infrastructure for economic connectivity. Development on different BRI components is picking up again as the Covid-19 cases dropdown.
Many voices are coming against the US in India, which is being termed as a blue-eyed close crony at the moment
The Group of Seven is an inter-governmental political forum of large economies comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US as the members. Representatives of the European Union also participate in it. This year, the UK, having the privilege of the presidency of the G7, also invited Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa to the summit. Perhaps, the international geopolitical experts believe that perhaps, the G7 would be leading to the formation of D10: from seven large economies to ten large democracies.
The G7 communiqué does not take the responsibility of funding the four major components of the B3W. It rather stated, “Through B3W, the G7 and other like-minded partners will coordinate in mobilizing private-sector capital in four areas of focus-climate, health and health security, digital technology, and gender equity and equality-with catalytic investments from our respective development finance institutions.”
It shows the G7 countries’ seriousness on B3W. Senate Standing Committee on Defence Chairman, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, while speaking at the Devcom Pakistan webinar, lamented that the US Administration had missed a golden opportunity to mobilise G-7 and NATO countries to come together with the rest of the world, including China, to collectively counter the common threat to humanity of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, President Biden seems to be busy recruiting allies for a Cold War against China.
A careful review of the G7 communiqué makes a sane reader smell something else behind the B3W initiative. It seems that the US is making its utmost efforts to ignite a new cold war in the region with B3W as a political bribe. The entire concept is yet not well-cooked but launched in the insane rivalry of China. Mobilising the “development finance institutions” of the G-7 countries would certainly take a long time to mature because of the “democratic approvals” of the finances and mechanisms to spending mechanisms from their parliaments.
The Communiqué also mentions engaging the private sector of the G7 countries in B3W. Jokes aside, would their private sector like to be engaged in a politically biased agenda, where they have to compromise their trade and economic ties with their Chinese counterparts? The other big issue with the US and its NATO allies is the sheer deficit of credibility. Even the long-term ally Pakistan has refused the US airbases against any elements in Afghanistan. China has already assured the war-weary and wounded Afghanistan for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of its infrastructure and economy.
Many voices are coming against the US in India, which is being termed as a blue-eyed close crony at the moment. India has to think a lot about its geopolitical and economic scenarios while favouring the US against China in the region. Iran has already expressed its bold and blunt stance against the US designs for Iran. Russia is all out to support Iran and China while Pakistan and Turkey are getting closer to strengthen the regional economy and peace for prosperity. The smaller countries of the SAARC region have always been complaining against Indian hegemonic interventions in their economic and political situations. In all the given circumstances, the big question is if India would go to the US-led B3W at the cost of complete isolation in the region? The other very important question is how many of 140 countries will back off the MOUs they have signed with China and proceed further on the projects to take advantage of the B3W, which, at the moment, seems to be merely political propaganda?
The writer is a freelance journalist and a broadcaster. He is Director of Devcom-Pakistan (Islamabad-based policy advocacy and outreach think tank). He can be reached at [email protected] and tweets @EmmayeSyed