By Foday Moriba Conteh
As part of their efforts towards bringing together countries of the Global South to share their perspectives and priorities on a common platform, India has on Friday 13th January 2023 concluded a two days Voice of Global South Special Virtual Summit on the theme, “Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose.” The Special Virtual Summit brought together more than 120 countries across the world.
The Special Virtual Summit initiative was inspired by Prime Minister of India Sh. Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas’ and underpins India’s philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is a family).
“Most of the global challenges have not been created by the Global South, but they affect us more,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inaugural leaders’ session of the Summit attended by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Thailand’s Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, among others.
“In the last Century, we supported each other in our fight against foreign rule. We can do it again in this Century, to create a new World Order that will ensure the welfare of our citizens,” he said.
“India has always shared its developmental experience with our brothers of the Global South. As India begins its G20 Presidency this year, it is natural that our aim is to amplify the Voice of the Global South,” he added.
Prime Minister Modi also gave his mantra to deal with the challenges of the global South: “To re-energize the world, we should together call for a global agenda of Respond, Recognize, Respect, Reform,” he said.
Prime Minister Modi called for a ‘human-centric globalization’ one that does not create a climate crisis or debt crisis.
“We all appreciate the principle of globalization. India’s philosophy has always seen the world as one family. However, developing countries desire a globalization that does not create climate crisis or debt crisis,” the Prime Minister said in his opening remarks at the Concluding Leaders’ Session of the Summit.
The two days Summit envisaged ten sessions of which four sessions were held on 12th January 2023, and six sessions on the 13th January 2023. Each of those session witnessed the participation of Leaders/Ministers from 10-20 countries.
The inaugural and concluding sessions were held at Head of State / Government level, and hosted by the Prime Minister. The theme of the Inaugural Leaders’ session was, “Voice of Global South – for Human-Centric Development” and that of the Concluding Leaders’ session was: “Unity of Voice-Unity of Purpose”.
In addition, there were 8 Ministerial sessions, with the following themes: Finance Ministers’ Session on “Financing People-Centric Development,” Environment Ministers’ Session on “Balancing Growth with Environment Friendly Lifestyles (LiFE)”, Foreign Ministers’ Session on “Priorities of the Global South – Ensuring a Conducive Environment,” Energy Ministers’ Session on “Energy Security and Development- Roadmap to Prosperity,” Health Ministers’ Session on “Cooperation to Build Resilient Healthcare Systems,” Education Ministers’ Session on “Human Resource Development and Capacity Building,” Commerce and Trade Ministers’ Session on “Developing Synergies in the Global South – Trade, Technology, Tourism and Resources,” and Foreign Ministers’ Session on “G-20: Suggestions for India’s Presidency.”
During the Summit, the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister of India, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the Finance Ministers’ Session of the Summit on Thursday the 12th January, 2023.
The session covered issues such as Development Financing, Development Aid and Partnerships, Financial Inclusion and Digital Public Goods under the overall theme: “Financing People-Centric Development”.
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman also highlighted the role of G20 in helping the world navigate through multiple crises and as a key platform to address global economic issues.
She stated that Voice of Global South Summit would help the G20 Presidency to reflect on common issues affecting their economies, exhorting the Global South to continue to exhibit strong solidarity and expressed India’s intent to incorporate #VoiceofGlobalSouth in multilateral fora in line with the theme ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ – One Earth, One Family, One Future.
The Finance Ministers from Belize, Chad, Colombia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Lebanon, Lesotho, Mauritius, Nepal, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Zambia shared their views and ideas during the Session of which the Republic of Sierra Leone was represented by the Honorable Deputy Minister of Finance, His Excellency Bockarie Kalokoh.
India is said to work in order to ensure that the valuable inputs generated from partner countries in the Voice of Global South Summit deliberations receive due cognizance globally and further. India’s ongoing Presidency of the G20 provides a special and strong opportunity for those countries that are not part of the G20 process to share their ideas and expectations from the G20 which is in line with the Prime Minister’s statement that India’s G20 Presidency will be shaped in consultation with not just their G20 partners, but also their fellow-travelers in the Global South, whose voices often go unheard.
