PremiumNEW DELHI : Global South will drive the world’s growth in the 21st century the way developed nations drove growth in the last century, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday at the ‘voice of Global South summit,’ held virtually.
Modi said that human-centric development is an important priority for developing countries and if worked together, developing nations could set the global agenda. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharamn, who also spoke at the event, said the summit will help the G20 Presidency to reflect on common issues affecting our economies. The finance minister exhorted the Global South to continue to show strong solidarity and expressed India’s intent to incorporate voice of the global South in multilateral fora, the finance ministry said in a social media post quoting Sitharaman. Modi said lack of resources for development needs and increasing instability both in natural climate and geopolitical climate were the common challenges of nations.
Despite this, it is also clear that developing countries are full of positive energy and full of confidence, Modi said. In the 20th century, developed countries were the drivers of global economy, Modi said.
“Today most of the 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," Modi said, adding that the effort will be to distil action points for the global South.
“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," said Modi.
The ministry said 120 countries were participating in the event on ‘unity of voice, unity of purpose’.
The sessions covered issues such as development financing, development aid and partnerships, financial inclusion and digital public goods under the overall theme of financing people-centric development. Sitharaman highlighted the role of G20 in helping the world navigate through multiple crises and as a key platform to address global economic issues. The first infrastructure working group meeting under G20 India Presidency, a two-day event, will start in Pune on 16 January.