The European Commission has set out the Global Gateway, a new European strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. It is meant to offer to its partners major investments in infrastructure development around the world.

In the time frame 2021 to 2027, the EU institutions and the EU member states will team up and jointly mobilise up to EUR 300 billion of investments in digital, climate and energy, transport, health, education and research. While doing so, the cardinal principles of good governance and transparency, equal partnership and compliance to green and clean environment will be adhered to.

The Global Gateway is seen as the EU’s answer to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China and to counter its growing global political and socio - economic influence, notably in Eastern Europe.

The EU is apprehensive that China’s expanding footprint in Southeastern, Central, and Eastern Europe and the socioeconomic opportunities it offers can escalate governance shortfalls, undermine political and economic stability and complicate the EU’s ability to reach consensus on key issues.

Greece, Hungary, Romania and Georgia are front runners of China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative with footprints of Chinese exports and investments, political influence, and a positive image of China and relations with China. The influence is expanding in other EU countries who are struggling with socio economic challenges.

All these four EU countries lacked resources for their development. In absence of any sizable support from the EU to these struggling economies, China filled in the gap.

With the rollout of Global Gateway, the EU aims to bring back these four and similar others back into its fold. Also, the EU has opted to support its member countries in their competitiveness in other markets - notably in Asia, Africa and the Middle East where markets are slipping out of the EU influence.

The opportunities which the Global Gateway could offer to Pakistan is worth exploring - considering that with the growing influence of Chinese products in Pakistan market, the EU countries have largely moved out of our market.

(The writer is a former President, Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022