Remapping global governance: India amplifies voice of Global South

Dovetailing its G20 presidency with aspirations of developing countries, India has refurbished its credentials anew as a votary and champion of Global South, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a vigorous pitch for amplifying the voice of the South in global governance amid multiple crises besetting the world.

“As India begins its G20 Presidency this year, it is natural that our aim is to amplify the Voice of the Global South,” said PM Modi at the maiden digital Voice of the South Summit convened by India on January 12.

In his terse and focused speech, PM Modi linked the master theme of India’s G20 presidency – “One Earth, One Family, One Future” – with the country’s civilisational ethos and stressed on realising ‘oneness’ is through human-centric development. “People of Global South should no longer be excluded from the fruits of development. Together we must attempt to redesign global political and financial governance. This can remove inequalities, enlarge opportunities, support growth and spread progress and prosperity,” he said.

Alluding to multiple crises facing the world, including COVID pandemic, climate change, terrorism and the Ukraine conflict, PM Modi highlighted the glaring asymmetry in favour of developed world, stressing that although these problems were not created by South, developing countries bear the brunt of them. “The search for solutions also does not factor in our role or our voice.”

Power Shift

Underlining the historic shift of power from developed to developing countries, PM Modi said: “In the 20th Century, the developed countries were the drivers of the global economy. Today, most of these advanced economies are slowing down. Clearly, in the 21st Century, global growth will come from countries of the South.”

“I think that if we work together, we can set the global agenda. Our effort will be to distil action-points for the Global South – both for what we can do together, and for what we can seek together on the global agenda. The Voice of the Global South needs to set its own tone. Together, we need to escape the cycle of dependency on systems and circumstances which are not of our making.”

“We can do it again in this Century, to create a new World Order that will ensure the welfare of our citizens. As far as India is concerned, your Voice is India’s Voice. Your Priorities are India’s Priorities.”

PM Modi proposed a new 21^st century global agenda pivoted around “respond, recognise, respect and reform”. “Respond to the priorities of the Global South by framing an inclusive and balanced international agenda, recognise that the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities applies to all global challenges, respect the sovereignty of all nations, rule of law and peaceful resolution of differences and disputes, and reform international institutions, including the UN, to make them more relevant,” he said.

The summit brought together the leaders of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Guyana, Mozambique, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam for the inaugural session.

The Voice of the Global South Summit is a visionary initiative of Prime Minister Modi to bring South countries under one overarching tent of solidarity and accelerated cooperation with a view to leveraging their collective weight to set the global agenda. Explaining the rationale behind the South summit, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said: “It is conceived as a platform for developing countries to share their concerns, perspectives, and priorities. It has a particular importance as India takes over the Presidency of the G20. Because we see clearly that the key concerns of the developing world are not being captured in its debates and discussions.”

“Whether it is the impact of the Covid pandemic, climate change, terrorism, ongoing conflicts and debt crises, the search for solutions do not give due weight to the needs and aspirations of the Global South. We therefore wanted to ensure that India’s G-20 Presidency gathers that voice, the perspectives, the priorities of the Global South, and articulates that clearly in its debates,” said Mr Jaishankar.

\The Voice of the Global South Summit is conceived as a platform for developing countries to share their concerns, perspectives, and priorities. “It has a particular importance as India takes over the Presidency of the G20. Because we see clearly that the key concerns of the developing world are not being captured in its debates and discussions. Whether it is the impact of the Covid pandemic, climate change, terrorism, ongoing conflicts and debt crises, the search for solutions do not give due weight to the needs and aspirations of the Global South,” said Mr Jaishankar.

“We therefore wanted to ensure that India’s G-20 Presidency gathers that voice, the perspectives, the priorities of the Global South, and articulates that clearly in its debates.is conceived as a platform for developing countries to share their concerns, perspectives, and priorities. It has a particular importance as India takes over the Presidency of the G20. Because we see clearly that the key concerns of the developing world are not being captured in its debates and discussions. Whether it is the impact of the Covid pandemic, climate change, terrorism, ongoing conflicts and debt crises, the search for solutions do not give due weight to the needs and aspirations of the Global South. We therefore wanted to ensure that India’s G-20 Presidency gathers that voice, the perspectives, the priorities of the Global South, and articulates that clearly in its debates.”

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Manish Chand

Manish Chand is Founder-CEO and Editor-in-Chief of India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) and India and World, a pioneering magazine focused on international affairs. He is CEO/Director of TGII Media Private Limited, an India-based media, publishing, research and consultancy company.

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