Excellencies, Dear Colleagues,
It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to the Foreign Ministers’ Session on G20 of the Voice of the Global South Summit 2023. I look forward to hearing your views about collective priorities that could be highlighted during India’s G20 Presidency.
2. Today, I am among those with whom India not only envisions a common future but with whom it also shares a common past. Most of us shoulder the burdens of a colonial past, even as we face the inequities of the current world order. This has many facets and manifestations, as well as institutional expressions. While we promote faster rebalancing, more multipolarity and reformed multilateralism, it is imperative that the key global conversations of our times reflect our concerns and challenges. And it is with the experience of many G20 Summits before that we strongly felt the need for consultations amongst us so that India can be your voice in that platform.
Excellencies,
3. Recent developments have only added further to the stresses and anxieties of the Global South. As it is, many were facing unsustainable debt, unviable projects, trade barriers, contracting financial flows and climate pressure. To this was added the devastation of the Covid pandemic and the discriminatory practices which characterised global response. It starkly exposed the dangers of over-centralized globalization and unreliable supply chains. It was a reminder too that a more democratic and equitable world can only be built on greater diversification and localisation of capabilities.
4. If all that was not enough, the knock-on effects of the Ukraine conflict further complicated the economic situation. The costs and availability of fuel, food and fertilizers has emerged as a major concern for many of us. So too has the disruption in trade and commercial services. However, none of this has got the attention that it deserves in global councils. Where the United Nations is concerned, a frozen 1945-invented mechanism is simply unable to articulate the wider concerns of its membership. Some powers have been singularly focused on their own advantage, to the exclusion of the well-being of the international community. And the G20, reflecting the composition of its membership, has had its own particular focus. This is what we are seeking to change.
5. India’s G20 priorities will be shaped in consultation with not just our G20 partners, but also our fellow citizens in the Global South. This is an opportunity for India to articulate an agenda and for the Global South to show the way. India will make Reformed Multilateralism and Institutions for 21st century a priority during its Presidency with focus on decision, strong collective actions to accelerate progress on the SDGs. India will take a LiFE approach to climate action while keeping the complementarities of development agenda and our Climate goals at the center. India would focus on strengthening international cooperation in addressing the challenges relating to the increasing threat of Terrorism faced by many countries which has only increased in the face of emerging technologies.
Excellencies, Colleagues,
6. As we make efforts towards these goals, acting as one human family:
· We should work collectively towards a new globalization paradigm which will be for the collective well-being of humankind, with a critical focus on vulnerable populations
· We would work towards bringing down walls that young and talented people in our countries face in accessing opportunities around the world.
· We would make collective efforts to address the current challenges to food and energy security and ensure that humanitarian needs of vulnerable communities are served without delay.
· We would commit to drive a consensus on a Green Development Pact of the G20 Leaders, which will be a blueprint of strong actions for the next decade powering Green Development all over the world. This will be through investments in sustainable lifestyle, leveraging green hydrogen for climate action, and accelerating progress on SDGs.
· We would take up discussions on data for development, as countries are at different levels of development and readiness to engage with data-driven innovations. We need international cooperation on data-related capacities, innovations, and technologies especially for the Global South, to further progress on SDGs and create opportunities for us all. To this end we aim to focus on bridging the digital divide amongst countries through a multi-stakeholder approach.
· We would strengthen our efforts to share resources, development templates, our unique experiences and knowledge base with each other and exhibit strong solidarity as partners from the Global South.
Excellencies,
7. Prime Minister Modi has declared that this is not an era of war. He has spoken about the imperative to give up the us vs them mindset and to work collectively as one human family. To many of us in the Global South, this sentiment strikes a very familiar chord. From decolonization movements to resisting alignment in the face of a deeply polarized world, the Global South has always shown the middle path. The path where diplomacy, dialogue and cooperation take primacy over competition, conflict, and divisions. We all know that choosing peace, cooperation and multilateralism is a very patient endeavour that requires enormous bridge building. Yet it is the course that the world must take if the interests of the Global South are kept at its core. We welcome your views in this regard and promise to amplify the voice of the Global South during our G20 Presidency.
Excellencies,
8. No matter how hard the challenges, we must move forward together. It is only by acting as one do we stand any chance to succeed; and succeed we must. We must fully recognise the inter-dependence and cooperation that is expressed by the motto of our Presidency: One Earth, One Family, One Future. Your voices will guide and inspire us throughout this process.
Thank you for your attention.