Aerial photo taken on June 2, 2018 shows a train running on the Chinese-funded Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)

NAIROBI, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The UN resident coordinator in Kenya has hailed the positive role of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Kenya's development progress.

Siddharth Chatterjee told Xinhua in Nairobi that the initiative is a great opportunity for Kenya because it opens up huge job opportunities for the locals.

"I want to commend China for what is doing in transforming the infrastructure landscape in Kenya and the rest of Africa," Chatterjee said during a forum on the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2018-2022, which will guide the UN's financial assistance to Kenya.

Chatterjee said Kenya should strive to leverage on the Belt and Road Initiative to blend it with other opportunities that come from the rest of the world.

He observed that Kenya has an infrastructure deficit, which if removed will ease the movement of goods and people across the country.

"Countries that developed such as the Asian tigers and Western Europe used their modern infrastructure to catalyze more production and trade which creates jobs in the long run," he added.

He urged Kenya to improve the ease of doing business in order to crowd in more foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country.

According to the UN official, the east African nation should embrace public private partnerships in order to drive economic growth and development.

Chatterjee added that Kenya is blessed with an ideal geographic location that makes it a gateway and regional hub in Africa.