Dwelling at various global challenges arising out of conflict, Russia-Ukraine war and terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the world is in a state of crisis and it is difficult to predict how long this state of instability will last.
In his opening remarks at the first session of the two day Voice of Global South virtual summit on Thursday, Modi raised concerns over rising prices of food, fuel, fertilisers, and economic slump in the face of Covid-19 pandemic as well as natural disasters driven by climate change, reported PTI.
Flagging concerns over sluggish demand and economic crisis triggered by the Covid pandemic and war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Modi said India has always shared its developmental experience with the “brothers of the Global South”, and added that the Global South has the largest stakes in the future and most of the global crises have not been created by the countries of the Global South, but they affect them badly.
Countries should respond to the priories of the Global South, respect international law and territorial sovereignty, and reform international institutions including the UN, said PM Modi, reported by The Indian Express.
This year India kickstarts its G20 Presidency, so it is a natural aim at amplifying the voice of the Global South, said the PM.
India is organising the two-day summit to bring together countries of the Global South, which provide them a common platform to express their common concerns viz-a-viz various global challenges, including food and energy security caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The ‘Global South’ mainly refers to countries in Asia, Africa and South America. Around 120 countries have been invited to participate in the summit.
The Global South Summit envisages ten sessions. Four sessions would be conducted on Thursday, while the rest of them would be held on Friday. Each session is likely to witness the participation of leaders and ministers from 10-20 countries.
The “Voice of Global South – for Human-Centric Development” is the theme of the inaugural leaders’ session of the summit while the concluding session will focus on “Unity of Voice-Unity of Purpose”.