Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday gave a new mantra to re-energise the world already facing severe food and energy crisis, calling for respect and response to the interests of developing economies.
Addressing the Voice of Global South Summit through video conferencing, PM Modi said that the countries in Global South should call for a global agenda of ‘Respond, Recognize, Respect and Reform’ in order to re-energise the world.
“Respond to the priorities of the Global South by framing an inclusive and balanced international agenda. Recognize 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,” he told the summit.
The prime minister also reiterated that reform is needed in international institutions like the United Nations to make them more relevant.
The two-day virtual summit themed ‘Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose’ aims to bring together developing countries to share a common platform and discuss developmental issues.
Stating that “the world is in a state of crisis”, PM Modi told world leaders: “Your voice is India’s voice. Your priorities are India’s priorities.”
Listing challenges facing the world today like the Russia-Ukraine war, geo-political tensions, soaring energy and food prices, and Covid-19, PM Modi said that most of these problems “have not been created by the Global South”.
“But they affect us more. We have seen this in the impacts of the Covid pandemic, climate change, terrorism and even the Ukraine conflict. The search for solutions also does not factor in our role or our voice. Last year was a difficult year, that saw war, conflict, terrorism and geo-political tensions; rising food, fertilizer and fuel prices; climate change-driven natural disasters; and lasting economic impact of the Covid pandemic.”
“It is clear that the world is in a state of crisis. It is difficult to predict how long this state of instability will last,” PM Modi said.
Stressing the “oneness” of the world, PM Modi said: “For the G-20 Presidency, we have chosen the theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’. This is in line with our civilizational ethos. We believe the path to realizing ‘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 inequities, enlarge opportunities, support growth and spread progress and prosperity,” he said, adding that India has always stood for a greater role of developing countries in “determining our common future”.
Emphasising the potential of large markets in the Global South, PM Modi said, “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.”
PM Modi also recited a shloka which loosely translates to: “May noble thoughts come to us from all directions of the universe”. He said that summit is a collective effort for gaining noble ideas for our collective future.
“I am confident that together the Global South can produce new and creative ideas,” he concluded.