NAIROBI — The Belt and Road initiative being championed by China will unleash global prosperity through increased cross border trade, cultural interactions and skills transfer, a Kenyan scribe said on Sept 16.

Charles Kerich, an editor with a local daily, The Star Newspaper, said in a commentary that China’s Belt and Road initiative will have profound impact on economies and livelihoods across a large swathe of Africa, Middle East, Europe and Asia.

President Xi Jinping in 2013 launched the initiative to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.

Kerich who recently visited China hailed China’s move to revive the ancient trade routes that underpinned global prosperity in the middle ages.

The China-funded standard gauge railway (SGR) in Kenya and its future stretches in other East African nations are part of the Belt and Silk initiative, he said.

China-funded mega infrastructure projects like the SGR, sea ports and highways will catalyze industrial transformation in Kenya and the larger Eastern African region, he said.

China has as of June this year signed inter-governmental cooperative agreements or memorandums of understanding with more than 40 countries and international organizations on Belt and Road projects.

Kerich said that around half of the world’s population will benefit from the Belt and Road initiative, lauding China’s commitment to the speedy implementation of the initiative.