Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a two-day virtual “Voices of the Global South” summit Jan. 12-13, attended by 10 heads of state and government and 120 ministers and high-ranking officials from developing nations, to discuss the priorities that India intends to address as the president of the G20. The unmistakable message was that the old order is fading away and developing nations must play a vital role in shaping the new order that has already begun to emerge.
The past year was not a good year for anyone, he pointed out, because of war, geopolitical tensions, rising food and fertilizer prices and the lasting economic impact of the Covid pandemic. And it was not a crisis the developing nations created. But, he pointed out, “we in the Global South have the largest stakes in the future. 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.”
As the head of the G20, “it is natural that our aim is to amplify the Voice of the Global South,” the Prime Minister emphasized. India’s theme for its G20 presidency is “One Earth, One Family, One Future” and “oneness” can be achieved through “human-centric development. People of the Global South should no longer be excluded from the fruits of development. Together we must attempt to redesign global political and financial governance.” Over the two-day period, the summit planned to break down into eight working groups in which ministers would address the issues of health, education, energy, finances and trade, among others. External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar addressed foreign ministers separately (see report).
