“As we look ahead, our vision of everyone’s growth, with everyone’s trust, is far from accomplished. While change is the natural order, there continues to be a resistance for a greater role for the Global South in shaping solutions for the key issues of our times,” Jaishankar said at the second edition of the Voices of the Global South summit.

The summit was held first in January this year to accommodate developing country views into India’s G20 Presidency. Leaders from Bhutan, Bangladesh, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan and Nauru, among others, attended the summit.

‘The New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration will be remembered for bringing back the G20 focus on the real and serious concerns of the Global South,” Jaishankar added.

He also urged developing countries to build up self-reliance. “We also need to work towards self-reliance to mitigate our vulnerabilities vis-a-vis economic concentrations. The covid era is a stark reminder of the perils of dependence for basic necessities on far-away geographies,” Jaishankar argued.

He highlighted the need to “democratize and diversify” production and to build resilient supply chains. The minister also pointed to concrete breakthroughs for the Global South during India’s G20 Presidency by highlighting the African Union’s entry into the G20 as a permanent member.

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Updated: 18 Nov 2023, 12:17 AM IST