New Delhi, August 17: The Voice of Global South Summit is providing a voice to the needs and aspirations of those who had remained unheard till now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday in his address to the third edition of the summit.
The Prime Minister highlighted how India has shared its experience and progress with partner countries which has boosted cooperation between them in the field of infrastructure, digital and energy connectivity.
In his opening remarks at the summit that is being held virtually, PM Modi said, "Voice of Global South Summit is a platform where we are giving voice to the needs and aspirations of those who were kept unheard. I believe, our strength lies in our unity, and we will move in a new direction."
"Next month, the UN is organising the 'Summit of the Future', where deliberations are going on for the 'Pact for the Future'. Can we unitedly take a positive approach so that we raise the voice of Global South through this pact, which can empower the voice of Global South?" he added.
PM Modi also pointed out that the Global South Young Diplomat Forum and the Global South Excellence Centre are working on capacity building, knowledge sharing, and skilling.
"Through mission LIFE, we are giving priority to rooftop solar and renewable power generation not just in India but also in partner countries," PM Modi said.
"We have our shared experience of financial inclusion and last-mile delivery. We have initiated connecting Global South countries through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). There has been crucial progress in our partnership in the field of education, capacity building, and skilling," he said.
Speaking on the contribution of UPI in inclusive growth, PM Modi stated, "In inclusive growth, the contribution of digital public infrastructure is no less than a revolution. The Global DPI depository formed during India's G20 presidency was the first multilateral consensus on the Global DPI Depository...we have made a Social Impact Fund to increase progress in DPI among Global South nations. India will make an initial contribution of USD 25 million to the fund."
He also emphasized India's vision of 'Aarogya Maitri' and said India has helped its partner countries in Africa and the Pacific. He further said India has emerged as a 'first responder' in situations of humanitarian crisis.
"Our mission for health security is 'One World, One Health' and our vision is 'Aarogya Maitri', meaning 'Friendship for Health'. We have served this friendship by supporting African and Pacific nations with hospitals, India hosted the 1st Voice of Global South Summit (VOGSS) on January 12-13, 2023, and the Voice of Global South Summit on November 17, 2023, both in virtual format. Both the previous editions of the Summit saw the participation of over 100 countries from the Global South.
The inputs and feedback received from the leaders of the developing countries in these two Summits were appropriately reflected in the agenda and discussions of the G-20 Summit under India's presidency last year, including in the G-20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration.
The third VOGSS, with the overarching theme of "An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future", aims to act as a platform to expand discussions held in the previous summits on a range of complex challenges that continue to affect the world, such as conflicts, food, and energy security crises, climate change - all of which disproportionately severely affect developing countries.
At the Summit, the countries of the Global South would continue deliberations on challenges, priorities, and solutions for the Global South, particularly in the developmental domain.
The theme of the Inaugural Leaders' Session is the same as the overarching theme of the Summit, ie, "An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future". (ANI)
