Focus on life in Bissau, focus on investment immigration. According to the Nigerian website Ventures, last week, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Li Jinzao and representatives of ECOWAS signed an agreement in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to build the "Pan-West African Highway" (2,000 kilometers long). The agreement aims to develop infrastructure in West Africa and promote economic cooperation in the region.
The highway will run from Dakar, Senegal, to Lagos, Nigeria. It will pass through nine cities, including Bissau, Banjul, Conakry, Freetown, Monrovia, Abuja, Accra, Lomé, and Cotonou. Currently, there are no road connections between these capital cities, hindering the smooth flow of goods.
According to Professor Deborah Brautigam of Johns Hopkins University in the United States, implementing this project will be complex as it involves nine countries, each with its own funding issues.
In the report "China in Africa" released this week, the American scholar stated: "The project may be tendered in the form of a public-private partnership, with future road tolls incorporated into the financing plan." This project could provide an alternative route to international markets for Guinea-Bissau's main export crop—cashews.
The government of Guinea-Bissau expects the country's economic growth rate to reach 2.8% this year. In trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde are the smallest trading partners. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the trade volume between China and the eight Portuguese-speaking countries has reached 117.23 billion USD so far this year, a year-on-year increase of 28.23%.
