Kishida Offers $65 Bil. For Sustainable Infrastructure Development
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has offered more than 65 billion dollars in investment assistance for developing countries to build sustainable infrastructure.
Kishida made the offer during discussions at the G7 summit in Germany on Sunday, at Schloss Elmau in the country's south.
He expressed concerns that developing nations are struggling with increasing debts as the international community has been responding to the coronavirus pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Kishida stressed the need for the G7 to come up with ways to respond to unfair and opaque loans extended by China under its Belt and Road initiative.
Kishida added that the G7 should address a so-called "debt trap" caused by China's massive loans where borrowers will struggle with repayment, and will fail under Beijing's influence.
The Japanese leader pledged to offer more than 65 billion dollars in assistance over the next five years, including private funds, for infrastructure projects in developing economies.
US President Joe Biden announced the launch of a global infrastructure initiative that will raise nearly 600 billion dollars by 2027, in a bid to counter China's growing influence in the developing world.