AN IMPETUS FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Turkey's Adibelli said China, with a profound historical friendship with the Middle East and African countries, can help improve social and educational development under the Belt and Road Initiative.
"The cooperation in education could help the countries become more conscious. It also encourages women to stand up in social life. When the transformation of economic and social order is completed, stability will come along and there will be no safe haven anymore for terror organizations," he said.
"The Arab Spring that started in the Middle East had brought neither prosperity nor social transformation. The only thing it brought was chaos," said Adibelli, "The Belt and Road Initiative, however, brings both common wealth and a future due to its win-win nature."
"Many young people here are working in this oil field and paid with relatively high incomes," said Muhammad Mahdi, an engineer of al-Ahdab project.
The 31-year-old told Xinhua that he has received systematic training after working here and been sent to study in China because of his well performance at work. "I have saved up enough money and been engaged with my girlfriend," he added.
The operator of the project, the Chinese National Petroleum Company, has served the local communities by offering gas to nearby power stations and liquefied natural gas to tens of thousands of families in Wasit, so as to benefit the local people directly and reduce poverty and joblessness, a major reason for social instability in the province.
PROMISING PROSPECT AHEAD
According to Turkey's Sensoy, the Belt and Road Initiative, a "global integration project," can create "a historic opportunity for stability and development" in the Middle East and Africa.
Kenya's Ikiara also said the initiative, focusing on the development of modern infrastructure along the routes, will radically enhance "the efficiency and reliability of Kenyan and the Eastern African transport infrastructure, reduce cost of transportation by more than 40 percent and raise their products' competitiveness, therefore expand the region's share of global trade."
According to Zeyad Juburi, economic professor at Baghdad University, the Belt and Road Initiative could bring historic opportunities for Iraq, an important point along the route.
Energy cooperation is a key component of the Initiative, and Iraq has rich oil resources of 143 billion barrels, 8.7 percent of the global reserve, he said.
However, the development of the initiative in Iraq has to deal with the backward manufacture industry and agriculture, the aftermath of decades of wars, sanctions and social instability, he added.
But Iraq's need for a promising future is more urgent than ever.
"My life sucks because I still need my father's money like a kid," said 25-ear-old Ibrahim Mohamoud, who has not found a secure job since graduating from college four years ago.
"I hope the government will attract more foreign companies to invest in my country, so that I can see more chances to find a job," he said.
