Africa hails China’s role in strengthening multilateralism

ADDIS ABABA — Sierra Leone’s minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, Alie Kabba, on Thursday reiterated Africa’s common support for China’s growing involvement in strengthening the global multilateralism platform.

“We welcome China’s involvement, because it gives us the sense that we have a fundamental foundation in strengthening multilateralism across borders,” Kabba said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Noting the rising resistance against multilateralism in recent years, Kabba spoke highly of China’s growing contribution in the global arena as a major actor to fill the gaps that are witnessed in maintaining the multilateralism system.

“When we see China stepping up, it gives us the sense that we are moving in the right direction,” he added.

Strengthening the multilateralism platform is an essential imperative to address the challenges faced by humanity today, he said.

“The future calls for greater collaboration among nations because that’s the only way we can address the issues confronting humanity today,” he said, adding that “it is very clear now that the era of multilateralism is here. Those who resisted are just taken to the past.”

Kabba further stressed that the multilateralism system “speaks to the fundamental aspirations of all nations and all peoples regardless of their sizes.

“We believe that in coming together to make sure that we achieve a shared future for everybody is the way forward,” he said.

Also on Thursday, Kabba’s comments regarding the challenges faced by the global multilateralism platform was echoed by Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, who urged African countries to mobilize forces against the backdrop of the rise of unilateralism.

“The rise of unilateralism does not give us any alternative, but to close our ranks,” the AU chairperson told African foreign ministers who have gathered in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa as part of the 34th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Foreign Ministers, which concluded on Friday.

“Our leaders have in several occasions expressed their commitment to integration. The demands for the development of our continent imperatively take into account the fact that we need to honor our commitments,” Faki said, as he urged Africans to successfully battle the rising trend of unilateralism.