Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday pitched for developing countries to jointly attempt a redesign of global political and financial governance “to escape the cycle of dependency on systems and circumstances which are not of our making’’.
This was the sum and substance of his opening and closing statements at the inaugural session of the Voice of the Global South Summit which India is hosting virtually for two days, beginning Thursday, to provide the unheard countries a voice in this year’s G20 summit that New Delhi is presiding over.
“Three-fourths of humanity lives in our countries. We should also have an equivalent voice. Hence, as the eight-decade-old model of global governance slowly changes, we should try to shape the emerging order,’’ Modi said in the inaugural session which was attended by the heads of state/ government of about a dozen countries.
Pointing out that most of the global challenges have not been created by the Global South — a term that India is increasingly using to identify developing countries as a collective — the Prime Minister underscored that it is these very countries that have had to bear the brunt of these challenges, be it climate, pandemic or war.
Apart from iterating India’s call for reforming the United Nations, the Prime Minister urged the Global South to push for framing an inclusive and balanced international agenda, recognise that the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities applies to all global challenges, and respect the sovereignty of all nations.
Explaining the rationale for such a summit, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said as India took the presidency of the G20, New Delhi saw that the key concerns of the developing world are not captured in the debates and discussions of this grouping of the world’s major economies.
“Whether it is the impact of the Covid pandemic, climate change, terrorism, ongoing conflicts and debt crises, the search for solutions does not give due weight to the needs and aspirations of the Global South. We, therefore, wanted to ensure that India’s G20 presidency gathers that voice, the perspectives, the priorities of the Global South, and articulates that clearly in its debates,’’ India had invited over 120 countries to participate in the summit which has been divided into eight sessions.
While there was no official word on whether China was invited to this virtual summit, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin confirmed that Beijing had been “informed’’.