By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – In January, the United States intends to invest five to 10 in large infrastructure projects across the globe as part of a broader Group of Seven initiative against China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

According to the official, a U.S. delegation led by Dalep Singh (Deputy National Security Advisor), identified at least 10 projects in Senegal, and Ghana, during last week’s “listening tour”.

As they search for projects that will be funded by Build Back Better World, (B3W), the G7 rich democracies launched in June. Officials have been meeting with leaders from the private and public sectors. The official stated that plans might be made during December’s G7 meeting.

A U.S. delegation visited Colombia, Panama, Ecuador and Panama during an identical tour in October. Another delegation is scheduled to travel to Asia by year’s end, according the official, but without specifying any Asian countries.

Officials have stated that the G7 B3W Initiative is designed to reduce infrastructure investments of $40 trillion by developing countries by 2035. It also provides an alternative to China’s problematic lending practices.

Reporters were told by a U.S. official that the United States would offer “the entire range” U.S. financial tools to developing countries, including loan guarantees, equity stakes, loans, grant and political insurance. This includes grants, technical assistance, and loan guarantees.

Officials stated that the effort aims to identify “flagship projects” which could be launched by next year.

Alexia Latortue was the deputy chief executive officer at Millennium Challenge Corp and Travis Adkins the deputy assistant administrator for Africa at U.S. International Development Finance Corp.

Biden contributed to the advancement of this initiative in a meeting she held on the sidelines COP26 UN climate conference. She was joined by Ursula von der Leyen from the European Commission, Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister, and other G7 partner countries.

According to the administration, senior Senegal officials and Ghanaian government officials welcomed assurances from the United States that, unlike China, which is the largest creditor in the world, they would not need non-disclosure or collateral agreements, that could lead to the seizure or enlargement of airports or ports.

The projects discussed were: setting up a potential vaccine manufacturing center for West Africa, Senegal; boosting renewable energy supplies; enhancing lending to women-owned business and closing the digital gap.