While addressing the India-UN Global Summit, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar said that it was appropriate to start the G20 presidency by convening the voice of the Global South Summit. He also added that Delhi walked the talk when it comes to South-South cooperation.
“During the summit, which involved 125 nations of the South, it was clear that the global south in addition to bearing the consequences of structural inequities and historical burdens was plagued by the impact of economic concentration, Covid, tensions and disputes which have stressed and distorted the international economy,” said Jaishankar while speaking at the 'India-UN for Global South: Delivering for Development' event.
EAM also said that hosting at the G20 presidency was challenging as we were confronting a very sharp East-West polarisation and a very deep North-South divide.
"While we are the G20 president till the end of this year, both before the G20 presidency and after it, we will remain very much a partner, a contributor, a collaborator, in our own way perhaps an inspiration to others on how to address developmental challenges. Our experiences and our challenges, we place before in a spirit of sharing," said EAM.
While speaking at the event, India's permanent representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj said that India’s engagement with the Global South is ingrained in the very fabric of our culture and philosophy. Kamboj highlighted the India’s efforts during the Covid-19 times and also the development projects adopted over the past decade.
“During Covid, India had extended a helping hand by providing made-in-India vaccines to nearly 100 countries and supplying medicines to 150 nations. Our development partnerships have also expanded significantly, reaching 78 nations across diverse regions and we have, over the past decade, initiated 600 projects that stand as a testament to our goodwill for our friends,” she said.
Kamboj also added that at the UN, the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, a single country South-South initiative, has successfully developed a portfolio of 75 projects across 56 developing countries in just 6 years.
At the Summit, UNGA President Dennis Francis said that being the first to usher the African Union into the group as a permanent member sends a strong symbol of solidarity and cooperation across the Global South.
“Our enduring partnership from the UN's heart to India's remotest villages serves as an inspiration to the Global South...Throughout this week, we discussed global crises and agreed that we must bridge gaps between commitments to the sustainable development agenda and its implementation,” said Francis.
Jaishankar is in New York to lead the Indian delegation for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session.
