Delhi, 17 November: On the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today (Friday) that new challenges are emerging from the developments in West Asia. The time has come for the countries of the ‘Global South’ to come together and raise their voice in the larger interest of the entire world.
Prime Minister Modi made this call in his virtual address at the second ‘Voice of the Global South Summit’. The summit has been organised by India.
Prime Minister Modi said that India condemned the terrorist attack on Israel.
He said, ‘We strongly condemn the killing of civilians in the conflict between Hamas and Israel. We have emphasised dialogue and diplomacy as well as restraint. We are seeing that new challenges are emerging from the developments in West Asia. India hosted the first edition of the ‘Voice of the Global South Summit’ in January to raise awareness of the challenges and concerns faced by developing countries.
He said that ‘Voice of the Global South’ is the best platform to reflect the changing world of the 21st century. The Prime Minister said, ‘We are more than 100 countries, but our priorities are the same.’ Prime Minister Modi appealed for cooperation in the summit under the framework of five ‘C’s: consultation, communication, cooperation, creativity, and capacity building.
In his address, the Prime Minister also mentioned the inclusion of the African union in the G-20. He said, ‘I cannot forget that historic moment when the African union was included as a permanent member due to the efforts of India.’
He also discussed important decisions taken by the G-20. Prime Minister Modi said that this time the G-20 countries have shown seriousness in providing funds to tackle climate change. Also, in the G-20, it was agreed to provide finance and technology on easy terms to the countries of the ‘Global South’ on climate change. The Prime Minister said that India believes that new technology should not increase the distance between the ‘Global South’ and the ‘North’.
It is noteworthy that ‘Global South’ refers to those countries that are often known as developing, less developed, or underdeveloped. These are mainly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
