"Energy Cooperation in a Multipolar World"--Russia's Energy Week Theme

The plenary session of the seventh edition of Russia’s Energy Week happened today featuring special guest Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Thousands of people from over 50 nations attended this year’s event. Energy and development are twins as the latter requires the former even in their most basic forms. The norm for most of human existence was the energy was provided by the manual effort of animals—human and other beasts—for any development to occur. Humans then mastered water and wind to increase the amount of energy that could be applied to development. It was only very recently in human history that the use of fuels could be used to vastly multiply the effort applied to development. In our present Era, fuels to produce energy and its use to power development are taken as givens, but such fuels aren’t evenly distributed, nor are the technologies for their extraction or use in development. Only very recently have those begun to be widely shared, although always at a price/cost. As Lavrov noted in his remarks to the G-20 Meeting held on the UNGA Debate sidelines, energy use by developing nations is being artificially restricted because of climate impact considerations, which is clearly a political attempt to keep those nations poor and dependent—a form of Neocolonialism. Lack of equity is one of the causes of conflict. In their policy announcements, both Russia and China have stated the level of development must become more equitable, and that means the better distribution of energy resources—from fuels to generation technologies to distribution systems to end use applications. And that leads us to the requirement for cooperation between nations so they can further their development. Now we’ll read what Mr Putin and Mr Mbasogo have to say on the topic:

Vladimir Putin: Dear ladies and gentlemen, Dear friends! Colleagues!

I am very happy to welcome you all to Moscow for the seventh Russian Energy Week Forum.

This event has firmly entered the business schedule of global energy, once again brought together the heads of leading industry companies and organizations, government representatives, recognized specialists, experts, and journalists.

This year, more than four thousand participants from more than fifty countries came together to discuss the most important issues on the energy agenda, the challenges that both producers and consumers of energy resources face today in all parts of the world.

And of course, this forum is a great opportunity to establish new contacts, agree on cooperation and exchange views on the long-term prospects of the fuel and energy sector.

It is obvious that modern energy is one of the key industries, a real foundation for global development. When it operates calmly, according to transparent and understandable rules, when deposits are developed and resources are processed, and supplies to the market are carried out smoothly-all this creates a solid foundation for economic growth, the social sphere, and improving the well-being of citizens.

Unfortunately, this truism is less and less taken into account by those who have adopted the mechanisms of illegal sanctions and believe that they can use them to their advantage in the energy sector as well.

What is it about? Historically, it is in the hands of the West that the main elements of the supporting infrastructure of the global energy market have been concentrated. I am referring to innovative solutions for the extraction of raw materials, logistics, insurance of resource supplies, as well as a payment system for these operations – in short, something that, along with technology, forms a kind of global energy platform.

Western elites believed that they could block access to these services to those countries that they did not like in political terms, thus putting them on the sidelines of progress, but in fact just squeeze them out of the market. I think that many people will agree with me that all these tools are used primarily as tools of unfair competition.

The motive is obvious: The West does not want competition because it cannot cope with it, often loses in a fair fight – and resorts to discrimination, presenting it under the guise of imaginary Euro-Atlantic solidarity, the struggle for human rights, and so on. There are many prepositions.

But what happens in the end? By blocking access to its platform, the West has only spurred the development of alternative solutions, alternative logistics, insurance, international payment systems and technological innovations. Of course, this is not an easy process, it is not easy for those who are engaged in this process, but this process is going on, it is going steadily.

I would like to emphasize that even today these decisions are mostly independent of outside influence. And taking into account the fact that they are gradually being built on a qualitatively new technological basis, they are becoming more efficient and, which is very important, more widespread every day – first of all in countries that are gaining momentum and demonstrating high rates of economic development.

I have repeatedly said that the modern world has entered an era of radical, irreversible changes. A multipolar model of development is being formed, which is launching a new wave of global growth for the entire XXI century. And this growth will not be concentrated in Europe or North America. Of course, the fundamental foundations of the European economy, the American one, are very serious and powerful, and they are certainly functioning and will continue to function, and the braking distance will be long. But still, the main growth will be concentrated not in Europe and North America, which are gradually losing their positions in the global economy, but in the BRICS countries and those states that want to join our association and see the prospect of equal cooperation, taking into account national interests.

I have already said it, but I will repeat it again in this audience, these are objective data, international data: in 1992, the G7 group's share in world GDP was 45 percent, while the BRICS group's share was only 22 percent. By the end of 2023, the G7 share fell to 30 percent, while the BRICS share rose to 36 percent. And the pace increases, the gap increases.

Let me note right away: according to international experts, in some BRICS countries, including the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, the economic dynamics will be positive, but relatively moderate – I repeat, this is the data of experts, including international experts - while the leaders in terms of growth rates are the following: The countries of the so – called global South, which still have a low GDP per capita, a fairly low rate of urbanization, and a high birth rate, will become the most rapidly developing countries. These are primarily the countries of South and South-East Asia, as well as Africa, including, by the way, Equatorial Guinea, whose President, Dear Mr. Teodoro Obiang [Nguema Mbasogo], is participating in our plenary session. Please welcome him. (Applause.)

I repeat: BRICS – and Russia is chairing this organization this year – sees its task in building up economic potentials, creating a space of opportunities for all those who are interested in harmonious, mutually beneficial cooperation. I would like to emphasize that it is mutually beneficial, that is, in the common interests of our countries and peoples.

For countries that are already or will become promising growth centers, we intend to create an effective and free from negative external interference development platform, including resource, technological, human resources, financial, trade and investment. This includes the energy sector, which, as I have already said, has a decisive impact on the state of the economy and the social sphere.

Russia, despite the objective difficulties, they are well known to everyone, in fact, everyone has difficulties, we have our own, rather big difficulties, but nevertheless Russia remains one of the leading participants in the energy market in the world. Over the past two and a half years, domestic companies have been able to switch supplies of oil, petroleum products, and coal. For example, if earlier the share of the Asia-Pacific region in our energy exports was approximately 39 percent, then at the end of last year it increased by one and a half times and already exceeded 60 percent.

In general, friendly countries account for over 90 percent of Russia's energy exports. At the same time, its physical volume, with the exception of natural gas – also for experts it is clear why – has practically remained at the level of 2021.

Russia is expanding the geography and scale of energy cooperation. New routes are being built to dynamically growing, capacious markets, including the countries of the Eurasian Economic Community, the CIS, and the south of Eurasia. Deliveries via the Power of Siberia gas pipeline are increasing. Exports of liquefied natural gas continue to grow.

Thus, LNG from the Russian Arctic has become one of the main anchor cargoes of the Northern Sea Route. We will definitely continue to develop our own services and technologies in the field of LNG, create centers for transshipment, storage and trade of liquefied natural gas, provide projects with gas carriers and, of course, increase the capacity of our Arctic and eastern seaports, strengthen communications and infrastructure of the Northern Sea Route.

My Russian colleagues know what I'm talking about, and they have a lot of problems. Of course, this partially hinders the implementation of our plans, but they will certainly be implemented.

In general, we are expanding international transport corridors. By 2030, the volume of traffic along these corridors should increase by at least one and a half times compared to 2021.

We are also developing the Eastern Railway Polygon. If this year the capacity of the Baikal-Amur Mainline and the Trans-Siberian Railway reached 180 million tons, then in 10 years it will increase to 270 million tons, which will allow us to transport large volumes of fuel and energy products and their processed products from our Siberian regions to the markets of the global South.

A separate issue concerns the financial infrastructure, namely payments for Russian exports. There are, of course, some difficulties here. To solve this problem, we are switching to transactions in national currencies, and our partners are highly interested in this. There are also many problems here, and we are well aware of this, but we are overcoming them gradually. Thus, the share of the ruble in our foreign trade operations is already approaching forty percent. From 2021 to 2023, the ruble's share in export payments almost tripled, to 39 percent, and in the first half of this year, the figure was already 39.4 percent.

At the same time, within the framework of cooperation with the BRICS countries, we are working on creating our own payment and settlement circuit, which will create conditions for efficient and independent servicing of all foreign trade.

I would like to add that the supply of energy resources from Russia allows friendly countries to restrain the growth of import prices, ensure their energy security and economic stability, and allow them to compete more successfully on the world market.

At the same time, we aim to go further, not to limit interaction only to the sale of resources. Russia is ready to strengthen the technological sovereignty of its partners in the energy sector, forming full-fledged scientific and production chains. This is how cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear power develops, when Rosatom's stations are being built abroad simultaneously with the training of local personnel, with the training of engineers, workers, and managers for new facilities. In fact, we are not just building a power plant, as they say in Rosatom, we are creating an industry for our partners, a new branch of energy and economy.

Such a combination of intellectual and resource potential of different countries, reaching new frontiers of international cooperation, I am sure, will open up additional opportunities for our research school, for the development of mechanical engineering, the service sector and, of course, the entire Russian energy sector.

Dear colleagues!

According to the results of last year, the volume of energy consumption in Russia again updated the record, which exceeds the indicators of the Soviet period. You are well aware that if energy consumption increases, this is the surest sign of economic growth.

At the same time, our energy system, one of the largest in the world, not only meets the growing demand from business, the economy, and the social sphere, but also qualitatively changes its appearance. Over the past decade and a half, the installed capacity of the Russian electric power industry has increased by 18 percent, and the stations themselves have undergone deep modernization, become more modern, efficient, and environmentally friendly.

Thus, natural gas, an environmentally friendly, efficient hydrocarbon, accounts for 48 percent of our country's energy balance, and together with nuclear and hydro power, which have a minimal carbon footprint, this share exceeds 85 percent.

In other words, our energy balance is one of the greenest in the world, and this is an obvious fact. And unlike some Western countries, which use the climate agenda to promote their essentially neo-colonial interests, we are implementing a fair, orderly energy transition that takes into account our natural conditions, our socio-economic development of cities, the territory of the entire country and the structure of the fuel and energy balance.

We will continue to implement this approach. We will continue to update and strengthen our energy system, which has entered a period of re-equipment and development of new technological solutions.

In particular, we are developing a solid scientific and practical foundation in such promising areas as renewable energy sources, small nuclear power plants, thermonuclear fusion, as well as hydrogen generation and the production of automobile transport, water and rail transport using this type of fuel.

Yes, research and technology are at different stages of implementation here. But, I repeat once again, it is already important to see this perspective and make up plans for the future.

As you know, the Government has been instructed to extend the planning horizon for Russia's energy strategy until the middle of this century. This strategy is a large, comprehensive plan to build up energy capacity across the country. These are all long-term projects: we need to look ahead, and we are doing it.

This work will be based on large, systemically important projects with long investment periods, including, as I have already said, the development of new technologies, the development of deposits, the construction of supporting infrastructure, power plants and transmission lines.

I remind my colleagues from the Government: in the coming months, it is necessary to prepare an updated energy strategy and then step by step implement it, work on the priorities of long-term development of the domestic fuel and energy sector. Now, as far as I know, there is a coordination of parameters in the Government between departments.

I spoke in detail about these priorities a year ago, as part of the previous energy week. Let me remind you that the main one is to ensure the domestic market, stable supply of affordable, cheap energy to our regions, cities, and enterprises. I would like to emphasize that all national development goals set for 2030 should also be met by the fuel and energy sector.

It is estimated that by the end of this decade, energy consumption in Russia will grow by an average of two percent [per year]. This is about the same indicator as in the whole world. Our plans for this period are to introduce about 27 gigawatts of new generation capacity, including thermal, hydro and nuclear power plants.

We will strengthen ties between the energy systems of the Urals, Siberia, and the east of the country. At the same time, special attention will be paid to the supply of the Far East. Electricity consumption in this region is growing at a faster pace, higher than the national average. And with the further development of production facilities, housing construction, infrastructure, and social facilities, it will, of course, continue to increase. And our energy sector must also meet this demand, including with the help of modern coal-fired generation – with a low environmental burden.

I have already instructed you to draw up a long-term program for the development of the electric power industry in the Far Eastern Federal District. It will be calculated, like the energy strategy of the entire country, for the period up to 2050. I ask the Government to speed up the approval of this document.

A special topic concerns improving the reliability of electricity supply to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. This year, we have applied a fundamentally new approach here, namely, we have introduced the institute of territorial network organizations. Starting in 2025, they will operate in every region of the country, become a kind of center of responsibility for electricity supply, including the operation of unattended – unfortunately, there are also such – facilities, the elimination of the consequences of accidents on the networks, and so on.

I ask the Government, together with the heads of the regions of the Russian Federation and energy companies, to constantly analyze the effectiveness of territorial grid organizations, as well as for each subject of the Federation to draw up its own plan for improving the reliability of electricity supply, of course, with transparent sources of financing and worked out in advance. All the tools should be applied here: from regulatory agreements and infrastructure loans to concession mechanisms and service contracts.

I would like to mention the gas industry separately. It is currently undergoing major changes. We are talking not only about switching exports from the west to the east, but also about a significant increase in supplies to the domestic market, including under the social gasification program, which started in 2021 and is proceeding at a good pace, for which I would like to thank the Gazprom management. Here, of course, the leading role is assigned to it, our largest company in the gas sector – Gazprom.

I ask the company, its management, and the Government to prepare a ten-year plan, the implementation of which will certainly ensure the sustainable development of the corporation and the creation of infrastructure to change the geography of supplies. And, I repeat, it should take into account both our large-scale plans for gasification of Russian regions and the increase in gas processing within the country.

When I talk about reallocating routes, we all understand what I'm talking about. Here, our previously traditional customers decided to abandon our relatively cheap energy sources and decided to switch to a more expensive resource. Well, this is their choice, let them live on this expensive resource.

Further. The growth of hydrocarbon processing volumes in Russia, at our plants and complexes – is another priority task for the domestic fuel and energy complex. Here it is important to provide the raw material base, the necessary extraction of resources. We have already provided special tax incentives in this regard.

Thanks to state support measures, such offshore fields as Prirazlomnoye in the Arctic and projects on Sakhalin are involved in development. Hard-to-recover resources are being developed: the Palyanovskoye oil field in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and the Yuzhno-Neprikovskoye field in the Samara Region. New oil and gas-bearing provinces are being introduced in Eastern Siberia and the Arctic. I am referring to such major projects as Vostok Oil in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Morning and Storm fields on the Gydan Peninsula. The capacity of the coal mining center in the Far East is being expanded. By the way, next year the Pacific Railway will start operating-this is a private highway from the Elga field in Yakutia to the port of Elga in the Khabarovsk Territory.

I repeat: it is very important that the development of Russia's unique reserves allows us to develop domestic processing enterprises and create maximum added value here, in Russia, in our country.

We have launched a state program for the modernization of oil refineries. Its task is to provide the economy, cities, all localities, and our citizens with high-quality fuel, lubricants, bitumen, and other products. I ask the Government to closely monitor the implementation of this program, to work in detail on each enterprise, on the timing of repairs and renewal of production facilities.

Special attention should be paid to the development of oil, gas, and coal chemistry. It is estimated that the demand for their products both in our country and around the world will only grow. Moreover, these sectors are highly profitable. The price increase in chains from raw materials to final goods is up to 12 times.

Major projects in this area are already being implemented in Russia, even by world standards, the largest petrochemical plant in the country, ZapSibNeftekhim, is operating, the Amur gas chemical complex is being built, which will become the most powerful Russian enterprise for the production of base polymers, and there are other major projects. It is important that there are more such projects, that new production facilities are opened in different regions of the country and that modern, well-paid jobs are created. I have already drawn the attention of the Government, and I would like to repeat it again: we need to support such business initiatives.

And another thing: it is obvious that in modern conditions, the reliable operation of fields, pipelines, processing plants and power plants, and the fuel and energy sector as a whole is determined by the availability of our own personnel, technologies, and competencies in the field of equipment for resource extraction and transportation, power engineering, and so on and so forth.

One of the most important system tools for supporting domestic solutions will be the national project, which will be launched next year. It is called "New Nuclear and Energy Technologies". Within the framework of this national project, ambitious tasks will be set, namely: to consolidate Russia's global leadership in the nuclear field. It is precisely to consolidate world leadership, because now it, our leadership, is global. This is simply evident from the amount of work carried out by our leading company Rosatom.

This new national project aims to ensure the country's technological sovereignty in all areas of the fuel and energy complex. I ask my colleagues in the Government, together with our business and scientific communities, to work out all the details of this national project so that we can start implementing it without delay.

Dear colleagues!

The fuel and energy complex of Russia is a modern, dynamic industry. The domestic fuel and energy sector successfully responds to current, including global, challenges, strengthens the raw material, technological and industrial sovereignty of our country, maintains and develops trade and cooperation ties with responsible foreign partners.

Russia fulfills its obligations to supply energy resources to the world market, plays a stabilizing role in it, participating in such authoritative formats as OPEC Plus and the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries. By the way, here we also cooperate with the country that our guest represents, both in one and in another organization. And we will certainly continue this cooperation with our partners.

I am confident that the strategic and long-term challenges facing the Russian energy sector will undoubtedly be solved. This means that our energy companies, their labor collectives, and the entire industry as a whole will be provided with stable and reliable work for many, many years to come. They will make a significant contribution to achieving Russia's national development goals and improving the quality of life of our citizens. And, of course, they will continue to help balance global energy markets in the interests of sustainable global development.

Thank you for your attention.

: (as translated)T. Mbasogo Your Excellency Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation!

Your Excellencies, heads of delegations and representatives of organizations that are present here! Dear guests, Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honor for me to speak at the VII International Forum "Russian Energy Week" on the topic "Energy cooperation in a multipolar world".

We also express our gratitude and appreciation to the organizers that Equatorial Guinea was invited to participate in this meeting to exchange experience and best practices in order to meet the challenges in the energy sector and expand international cooperation, taking into account the important role that the energy sector plays in the economic development of the countries.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Government and people of the Russian Federation, as well as to my good friend Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, for the fraternal welcome and hospitality extended to us since our arrival in this wonderful and historic city of Moscow.

Your Excellency, Ladies and gentlemen,

This forum is taking place in an international context characterized by the economic and financial crisis caused by the fall in hydrocarbon prices, as well as the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the fight against which we must all work together and show solidarity to find solutions.

Indeed, we live in an era of great change and challenges. We are facing the reality of a world in transition in terms of the structures that support our economy. In this context, the energy sector plays a crucial role, being one of the pillars on which our state rests. Therefore, the positions we take today will have long-term consequences for future generations.

Equatorial Guinea is determined to deepen energy cooperation with Russia and with friendly countries. Our country, rich in natural resources such as gas and oil, is open to creating strategic alliances with partners who want it.

We strive to build a future in which our economies will benefit from genuine cooperation based on mutual trust and the achievement of common benefits, which will contribute to the development of our societies.

That is why we invite Russian companies and companies from other friendly countries to cooperate not only in the field of energy production, but also in the exploration and exploitation of our oil and gas resources. Such partnerships should not be limited to resource extraction, but should include knowledge transfer, technological training and support for the development of modern energy infrastructure.

Our goal is clear – that Equatorial Guinea, together with its partners, can optimize the use of its energy resources by applying the most advanced technologies in this sector.

Your Excellency, Ladies and gentlemen,

We cannot talk about energy development without addressing one of the most pressing problems facing the world – energy poverty, as millions of people do not have reliable access to energy. In this regard, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, together with other African partners, cooperates within the framework of the strategic partnership and the Finance Committee of the Central African gas pipeline system. We invest in the construction of energy infrastructure facilities in order to stimulate the economy and improve the standard of living of our societies.

Equatorial Guinea believes that energy cooperation should be based on a fundamental principle, namely, ensuring the stability of energy markets so that the most vulnerable segments of the population do not suffer the consequences of their volatility.

On the other hand, Equatorial Guinea strongly supports strategies and efforts to stabilize global energy markets. We therefore encourage all international actors to work together to reduce uncertainty and promote appropriate market policies. Energy should not be a weapon that divides us, but a means to ensure common prosperity. It is a collective responsibility to ensure that the least developed countries are not held hostage to fluctuations in energy prices and are not deprived of the benefits of energy and technological advances in this sector.

In addition, while all of us producing countries share common markets, not all of us have the same advantages. This led to the fact that the national company GEPetrol took over the management of ExxonMobil's assets in Equatorial Guinea to lead the country's oil sector, and thus the first shipment of crude oil was carried out in July of this year.

Your Excellency, Ladies and gentlemen,

This period is characterized by a discussion on the issue of abandoning fossil fuels. The concept of decarbonization requires us to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions. But it should be noted that Equatorial Guinea is not among the countries with the highest carbon dioxide emissions. In contrast, our emissions have almost no impact on climate change.

However, meeting the global requirements for decarbonizing our energy sources is currently a difficult task for the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, which it must take on. On the other hand, Equatorial Guinea does not have the same technologies and advances in decarbonization compared to more developed countries that have access to advanced technologies. Therefore, we cannot accept an energy transition that leaves the least developed countries behind.

It is necessary to recognize and accept the fact that the process of adaptation to new market conditions will take place at different rates in the international arena.

Your Excellency, Ladies and gentlemen,

Ensuring the future of energy is our common task. That challenge is the cooperation that Equatorial Guinea calls for, a cooperation based not only on energy production, but also on a shared determination to promote active stability in energy markets leading to a fair technological transition for all.

It is impossible to talk about cooperation if the goals are not shared. It is impossible to talk about cooperation if the benefits are not mutual. Moreover, it is impossible to talk about cooperation without an agreement based on consideration of interests and respect for other countries.

In conclusion, I would like to wish the current VII International Forum "Russian Energy Week", as well as the previous ones, every success. Let the discussions and proposals result in a world where there is no injustice in the energy sector.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Dear friends, Colleagues!

You have a whole working week ahead of you – a week of mutual contacts, meetings, and discussions of the issues that you have gathered here in Moscow to discuss. Of course, your work at the moment, and your current work in general, cannot but be influenced by the events that are taking place in the world in the field of politics.

Politics and economics are very closely linked, especially in such an important, fundamental area of the economy as energy. This connection can be traced throughout the entire existence of mankind, it is obvious. And now it has become so obvious that it is understandable even for people who are not engaged in either economics or politics.

But still, there are people here who are used to doing something specific, and not talking about what and how others should do, business people have gathered here. And much depends on the results of your work in the economy, and therefore in politics.

I sincerely wish you success in this joint work and hope that your work will be as depoliticized and pragmatic as possible. I sincerely wish you every success.

I would like to thank our foreign guests for making the decision to come to our country, to the capital of Russia, Moscow, at this difficult time.

I wish you all the best, success and prosperity! I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you. [My Emphasis]

Mr. Mbasogo’s short contribution was very powerful as he directly took on the inequities that exist in the energy sector most prominently and announced the concept of energy poverty. Given the historical background of the Colonial Era and the attempts to extend it via Neocolonialism, China’s Win-Win philosophy of mutual development ought to be easy to understand. That behavior can be seen in Rosatom’s approach to providing nuclear energy to nations. I’ve previously reported on several of Russia’s energy projects and the issues Russia faces in providing its development projects with sufficient energy—they’re daunting because of the great lack of basic infrastructure throughout the Far East, the Arctic and even within Siberia. Many resource deposits are in the middle of nowhere making it wiser to build an energy producing facility on-site as opposed to stringing high-voltage lines thousands of kilometers and having to maintain them; thus, the development of small nuclear power stations and nuclear batteries.

As with Russia’s Far East, Africa as a whole lacks much basic infrastructure which include logistical routes between all African nations. Colonial nations only installed the minimal infrastructure needed to deliver extracted resources to the coast for shipment to the metropole, which is why no interconnecting logistic routes exist. The same is somewhat true for South America. Many African nations are endowed with energy resources but have limited means to develop them or to further refine them into value-added products. Plus, it’s very difficult to share without conduit routes for oil and gas. These shortfalls and the need to solve them shifts focus to another realm of development—metallurgy, specifically steel production. A quick look reveals that several top ten steel producers are not African corporations but Japanese and Finnish, while steel production is also greatly separated by geography—Egypt and Libya to South Africa with little elsewhere. Part of that’s due to lack of resources, but most is due to lack of industrial development from plant to personnel—a steel mill’s no good without steelworkers. Thus, the entire development process is complex and requires energy, education, resources, capital, and visionary leadership. And of course, political stability is also required—tribes must realize that they were pitted against each other to facilitate colonial rule and that the task now is to leave the colonial era behind and concentrate efforts on building the sort of nation all the people want, which will likely be a blend of traditional and modern. And one last major point comes to the choice of transportation types which should emphasize mass transit versus the personal/individual since efficiencies and costs are very important for low income developing nations—becoming developed doesn’t mean becoming Westernized and repeating the West’s mistakes.

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