President Uhuru Kenyatta today addressed a roundtable meeting of Heads of State and Government on the second day of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China.
President Kenyatta told the world leaders that investments in strong digital communication regimes among BRI participating nations will have a multiplier effect for the massive infrastructure developments being implemented in these countries including Kenya.
President Kenyatta added that building intelligent soft systems will ensure that people are part of and benefit from the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He called on BRI participating economies to encourage ICT innovations and start-ups as enablers for business and sources of jobs.
President Kenyatta also spoke of the need for BRI participating countries to work harder to ensure that cities have the soft infrastructure to crowd-in the talent of young people as an important engine of growth especially in the digital space.
World leaders attending the second Belt and Road Initiative also agreed to form a Digital Silk Road Initiative to bridge the communication gap between BRI’s participating nations and to provide the needed digital platform for investors interested in the BRI economic corridors.
For seamless connectivity to be attained as envisioned by the BRI, President Kenyatta called for the full participation of the private sector in the Digital Silk Road Initiative.