Wang Yi at UN: Help Africa recover after pandemic

China urged the international community on Wednesday to help African countries in conflict to combat the pandemic and rebuild their economies.

"The world is undergoing the most serious pandemic in a century. No country is a fantasyland that's free of the virus, and no country should be left behind in the global response effort," said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a United Nations high-level debate.

The meeting "Peace and Security in Africa: Addressing Root Causes of Conflict While Promoting Post-Pandemic Recovery in Africa" was organized under China's initiative in its capacity as Security Council president for May.

Wang, who chaired the meeting, said its aim is to get the international community to work with African countries to defeat the virus, carry out post-pandemic reconstruction, eliminate the root causes of conflicts and galvanize momentum toward lasting peace and sustainable development in Africa.

The foreign minister put forward four proposals. The first of which is to help Africa reduce the "gap in COVID-19 response".

Wang urged the international community to provide more assistance to Africa with medical supplies to fight the pandemic, medicines, technologies and funds to ensure the availability and affordability of vaccines.

"We call on the countries with the capacity to urgently share their surplus vaccines with Africa," Wang said.

In the long run, the international community should help Africa enhance its public health capacity-building, strengthen its prevention and control systems, and build a global community of health for all. The UN should lead and can coordinate in that process, he added.

China's second proposal is to help Africa tackle the "peace deficit". The UN and the African Union should work closely to ensure the progress of the two major initiatives: "a global ceasefire" and "eliminating gun fire in Africa", Wang said.

The international community should continue to support the countries in seeking African solutions for African problems and to promote the process of political settlement and peaceful reconciliation, he said.

It's important to actively provide peacekeeping funds to Africa and to support African Union peace operations in order to help Africa enhance its capacity of maintaining peace and security and fighting terrorism, Wang said.

More attention should be given to the important role of economic growth and social development in promoting peace so as to remove the breeding ground of turbulence, he added.

Wang also stressed that unreasonable interference by external forces in African countries must be resolutely rejected to prevent more problems and conflicts from happening.

China's third proposal was to help Africa narrow the "development gap". The key is to support African countries in exploring a development path suitable to their national conditions, Wang said.

He called on developed countries to "take real steps on debt relief, development assistance and technology transfer, and fulfill their due international responsibilities".

Development partners should think creatively in light of the realities on the ground in helping Africa accelerate the pace toward industrialization and modernization and improve its capacity for self-sustained development and innovation, Wang said.

"In addition, we should actively support connecting the world's industrial and supply chains with Africa and support the development of the African Continental Free Trade Area," the foreign minister said.

The UN and the African Union could enhance coordination to synergize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 2063 Agenda to ensure a "one plus one is greater than two effect", he added.

The final suggestion was to help Africa correct "injustice in global governance".

"The UN won't be able to hold its political or moral ground if it fails to pay attention to the peace in Africa or help Africa with its development," Wang said.

Without African countries' support or participation, UN undertakings won't be in good shape. Equality of rights, equality of opportunities and equality of rules won't be achieved if African countries do not have greater representation and a stronger voice in international affairs, he pointed out.

"This is what true multilateralism is essentially about," Wang added.

China has always been a staunch supporter of Africa's fight against the pandemic, an active contributor to the continent's development and revitalization, as well as a strong defender of its peace and stability, Wang said.

China and Africa are ready to jointly launch the initiative on partnership for Africa's development, Wang said.

China calls on the international community to give stronger support to Africa in multiple areas such as COVID-19 response and reconstruction and to invest resources where Africa has the most urgent needs.

China welcomes more countries and international organizations, especially Africa's traditional partners, to join the initiative, in line with the principle of "Africa ownership, equality and openness", Wang said.

Foreign ministers from France, India, Tunisia, Ireland, Estonia and Vietnam, as well as senior officials from Kenya, Norway, Russia, the US, the UK, Mexico, Niger, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines attended the meeting.

They heard briefings from Secretary-General António Guterres, chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Achim Steiner.

Attendees expressed their appreciation for China's timely call to convene a high-level meeting on peace and security in Africa, which will help Africa resolve practical difficulties and maintain social stability after the epidemic.

A Security Council presidential statement drafted by China was adopted at the high-level debate.