GDI Anniversary Highlights Possible Pathways for Sierra Leone Cooperation

Five years after China introduced the Global Development Initiative (GDI), a review of the framework is drawing attention to how its priorities could relate to development needs in Sierra Leone and across Africa.

Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the initiative on 21 September 2021 during the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The proposal called for renewed focus on the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and collective responses to widening inequality.

A broad development framework

The GDI is built around six commitments: giving priority to development, putting people first, sharing opportunities fairly, embracing innovation, protecting the environment and pursuing practical results.

Its identified areas of cooperation include poverty reduction, food security, pandemic response and vaccines, development financing, climate action, industrialization, the digital economy and digital connectivity.

The framework emerged as countries were dealing with the economic and social effects of COVID-19, including job losses and uncertainty for families. The report reviewing the initiative says the pandemic also exposed weaknesses in healthcare, food supply, financing and access to technology in poorer countries.

It describes the GDI as an approach that views development as extending beyond economic growth. Improvements in livelihoods, access to essential services and opportunities for younger generations are also presented as important measures of progress.

International support and institutions

The initiative’s institutional structure includes the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative, which serves as a coordination forum, as well as the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund and the China-UN Peace and Development Fund.

Background information cited in the report indicates that more than 130 countries and international organizations have expressed support for the GDI, while nearly 100 countries have signed cooperation documents with China. Those figures are presented as reported background information rather than as independently verified totals.

China also convened the High-level Dialogue on Global Development in June 2022. According to the report, leaders from 18 emerging markets and developing economies took part, and the meeting produced a 32-item outcome list.

Potential relevance to Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone’s diplomatic relationship with China has included cooperation in infrastructure, health, education and other sectors. The report presents the GDI as an additional framework through which the two countries could consider priorities affecting Sierra Leonean households and businesses.

Agriculture is identified as one possible area of focus. Cooperation involving irrigation, mechanization, storage, research and food processing could help increase yields and reduce post-harvest losses, according to the report. Such measures could also support food security and create more opportunities in rural communities.

Education and technical training are also highlighted, alongside industrial development and infrastructure. These areas are discussed as possible ways to strengthen skills, productive capacity and access to essential services, although the report does not establish that specific projects have been approved, financed or completed under the GDI.

Climate action is another potential area of relevance. Coastal erosion and unpredictable rainfall are identified as challenges affecting vulnerable communities and livelihoods in Sierra Leone. The report suggests that cooperation in this field would need to reflect the country’s own priorities and circumstances.

Calls for accountability

The review emphasizes that development partnerships should be transparent and financially responsible. It calls for clear objectives, local participation and assessment through measurable outcomes.

That emphasis reflects the different needs, institutions and financial capacities of developing countries. For Sierra Leone, the report suggests that the value of any cooperation should be judged by practical improvements for farmers, students, businesses and communities, as well as by their ability to sustain those gains.

The next five years of the initiative, it adds, could therefore be assessed less by announcements than by results on the ground. The source does not provide an independent evaluation of the GDI’s implementation or outcomes, nor does it identify which Sierra Leone-China projects are formally part of the initiative.