Italy minister’s ‘wicked’ decision remark on China’s BRI: ‘Most ridiculous’

The BRI project, which Italy signed up for under its former government, has not done anything to boost the nation’s exports, Italy defence minister said.

Italy’s defence minister Guido Crosetto said that his country’s choice to join Chinese infrastructure project Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was “wicked.” The present Italian Government is considering whether to keep participating in the scheme, he said in an interview with Corriere della Sera newspaper. The BRI project, which Italy signed up for under its former government, has not done anything to boost the nation’s exports, he added.

Beijing’s international infrastructure investment programme- BRI- was established by the country’s president Xi Jinping in 2013 with the aim to rebuild China’s Silk Road that linked Asia with Africa and Europe. The project has seen billions of dollars invested into infrastructure projects, including the construction of ports from Sri Lanka to West Africa, motorways from Papua New Guinea to Kenya and power and telecoms infrastructure in Latin America and Southeast Asia.