B3W apparently a copycat project of BRI: experts

by Shafqat Ali

ISLAMABAD, June 28 (Gwadar Pro) - The Build Back Better World (B3W) is apparently a copycat project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that has engaged 140 countries by now, experts said at a webinar on Saturday afternoon.

Munir Ahmed, Executive Director of Devcom-Pakistan, said, “B3W is an apparent tool to challenge the deep-rooted BRI for obvious reasons.” However, the campaign, which covers the four areas of climate, health and health security, digital technology, and gender equity and equality and spans areas ranging from Latin America and the Caribbean to Africa to the Indo-Pacific, would take a long time to mature any outline of actual interventions, according to the experts at the forum.

Two issues will serve as the stumbling stone for B3W, said experts. The first question lies in the sources of the huge investments. Indian expert Soumya Awasthi said, “Nothing is clear as to how B3W would compete with BRI or curtail China’s economic growth while the big question is where the money comes from.”

Awasthi added, “And why would the private sector invest in the social sector where the returns of the investment are not ensured. On the other hand, the G-7 countries did not work out anything post-COVID.”

The other big issue is that the US has been losing trust from its allies. “The US has lost its credibility over the years, and many countries are no longer willing to trust whatever plans the US offers in partnership with other developed countries” noted Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed. He added, as the US has withdrawn from Afghanistan without any settled accord among stakeholders and growing security concerns, trust in G7 and the US has been eroding.

Lt General Asad Durrani (retd) said the US did not learn from its mistakes in the previous wars and armed conflicts. Another cold war in the region will be another big mistake while all the big countries in the region are against the US hegemonic interventions in the region, and somehow are part of the BRI and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). 

The Turkish expert Tolga Sakman said the B3W as a G7 partnership was not attractive to Turkey and it has many geopolitical flaws. “By all means, Turkey will support regional connectivity and economic prosperity.”

Organised by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan), the webinar was themed “Biden’s G-7 Build Back Better World (B3W) and emerging situation in the region”.

The panelists included chairman Senate Standing Committee on Defence Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief and geopolitical analyst Lt. General Muhammad Asad Durani (retd), political activist and geopolitical commentator Reham Khan (London), geopolitical researcher Soumya Awasthi (Delhi) and chairman Centre for Diplomatic and Political Affairs Tolga Sakman (Istanbul).