China and Algeria have agreed to embark on an ambitious partnership that will see them construct a sprawling railway network spanning a remarkable 6,000 kilometres across North Africa.
The President of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, praised the monumental phase as a pivotal stride toward advancing Algeria’s socioeconomic progress.
President Tebboune said this during his official visit to China, a visit that witnessed the sealing of over a dozen cooperation agreements encompassing diverse sectors such as aerospace, agriculture, energy, railway transportation, research, and technology.
President Tebboune also emphasised that the development of railroad infrastructure stands as the ‘paramount assurance for progress.’
The primary objectives encompass enhancing mining operations, boosting trade, and nurturing economic prosperity within Algeria.
President Tebboune underlined the imperative of investing in railroad infrastructure, citing it as the ‘ultimate catalyst for development.’
‘The primary objectives of this monumental undertaking include bolstering mining activities, fostering increased trade, and nurturing economic vitality throughout Algeria’, he said.
The colossal railway project marks the dawn of a fresh era in China-Algeria collaboration, holding the potential to usher in a revolutionary era of economic development not only for both nations but also for the broader African region.
In another report, the Pentagon is currently making plans to field thousands of drones and other high-tech military equipment over the next 24 months as the United States military shifts its attention to ‘autonomous systems’ to counter China’s numerical edge in terms of personnel and weaponry, a senior defence official said.
While speaking to a military technology conference in Washington, DC on Monday, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks pointed out that the “imperative to innovate” was crucial at a time of strategic competition with China, a rival who Hick described as being very different to the “relatively slow and lumbering” competitors the US faced during the Cold War.
Africa Today News, New York reports that while US forces were engaged in fighting for 20 years in Iraq and Afghanistan, “the PRC [People’s Republic of China] worked with focus and determination to build a modern military, carefully crafting it to blunt the operational advantages we’ve enjoyed for decades”, Hicks said in a speech.