G20: What is the Global South? How has India kept its promise of being its voice?

It’s D-day for India as it hosts the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The two-day event kicked off at the Bharat Mandapam in Delhi’s Pragati Maidan as Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed world leaders. India at the outset of its presidency vowed to be the “voice of the Global South” and since then has stuck to its commitment. The PM has pitched India as the leader of the Global South. In an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol, Modi said, “As soon as we became the President of the G20, we held the Voice of Global South Summit, which made it clear that we were a voice for the inclusion of those who felt excluded from the global discourse and institutional priorities.” “We are a nation that looks at the world as one family. Our G20 motto itself says that. In any family, every member’s voice matters and this is our idea for the world too,” he added. But what is Global South? And how is India fulfilling its promise? G20 with Firstpost: The complete coverage Let’s take a closer look: Global South The term Global South is used to refer to developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Economically developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia, Australia and New Zealand are called the Global North. India has flagged the issues plaguing the Global South countries on international forums, including at the United Nations meetings and conferences for years. “In the years following its independence, India pioneered the Non-Alignment Movement to ensure more room to manoeuvre and wider options for developing countries to avoid becoming embroiled in the great power politics of the time, while championing third world solidarity,” Shairee Malhotra, Associate Fellow, Europe with global think tank Observer Research Foundation’s (ORF) Strategic Studies Programme, wrote in  February. New Delhi’s close relations with countries in the Global North, and its similar challenges to those of the Global South puts it in a unique position, Malhotra noted. Ashok Malik, a former adviser to the Indian foreign ministry, told Deutsche Welle (DW) that India has “a deep intersection with the West in terms of strategic goals and values.”

But, he added that “it also has deep roots in the Global South.”

“So what India has tried to do is to be a bridge between the G20 members of the developed world, as it were, and the Global South.” [caption id=“attachment_12955822” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] India has organised multiple meetings across several states and Union Territories since assuming the G20 presidency last December. AP File Photo[/caption] With India at the helm of G20, it has continued to make efforts to bring the Global North and South – which often do not agree on key policy areas – to the table. India’s focus on Global South in G20 India’s G20 sherpa Amitabh Kant on Friday vowed that the New Delhi leaders’ declaration at the end of the G20 Summit will ‘reflect the voice of Global South’. “We wanted the world to take the lead on Green Development in the context of climate action and climate finance. There were several components of this which we wanted to drive and therefore, green development, climate action, climate finance were our third priority. Because both SDG and climate action require finance, particularly for developing and emerging markets in the global south. It was critical that we focus on multilateral institutions of the 21st century…” Kant said. “The New Delhi leaders’ declaration that you will see post the Summit, you will see it as a Voice of Global South and the developing countries. No document in the world would have such a strong voice for the Global South and the developing countries,” he added.

India in January convened a virtual summit titled ‘Voice of the Global South Summit’ of leaders and ministers of developing countries. New Delhi aimed to consult countries not represented in G20 about their developmental priorities and their expectations from India during its presidency, reported Hindustan Times (HT). Modi in an interview on Wednesday referred to India’s hosting of the Voice of the Global South summit in January that was aimed at bringing to international stage the challenges facing the developing countries. “Africa is a top priority for us even within the G20. One of the first things we did during our G20 Presidency was to hold the Voice of the Global South summit, which had enthusiastic participation from Africa,” Modi said. “We believe that no plan for the future of the planet can be successful without the representation and recognition of all voices,” he said. The prime minister said the effort towards “greater inclusion” of the Global South, particularly Africa in global affairs has gained momentum and that India’s G20 presidency has sowed the “seeds of confidence” in the countries of the so-called ‘Third World’. “They are gaining greater confidence to shape the direction of the world in the coming years on many issues such as climate change and global institutional reforms. We will move faster towards a more representative and inclusive order where every voice is heard,” he said. “Further, all this will happen with the cooperation of the developed countries, because today, they are acknowledging the potential of the Global South more than ever before and recognising the aspirations of these countries as a force for the global good,” he said. News18 quoted Modi as calling climate change a ‘shared reality’. Noting that the ‘Global South’ would be affected disproportionately compared to the more developed nations, Modi called for member states to come together and “focus on positive actions to combat climate change, instead of dwelling on restrictions, criticism, and blame.” S Jaishankar, speaking to ANI on Wednesday, pointed out that no such presidency made such efforts to bring together developing nations. “There have been G-20 summits before no other G-20 presidency has made an effort to get together the developing countries who are not on the table and say–please come, sit with us, tell us what are your concerns. And we will distil those concerns and place it before the G-20. That is a very unique exercise. Nobody has done it before. So, if we have taken the trouble and we meaning the Prime Minister Modi himself. If 125 countries that have been consulted feel today, yes, what we told India. India has promised us that they will put that issue on the table.” Jaishankar added that these nations have many expectations from India and that New Delhi has a reputation as a ‘very constructive player’ outside the G20. “Someone who bridges, divides, who kind of somewhere helps to fix problems,” Jaishankar added. “So, there is a lot of goodwill that we have. And again, I stress to you. I’ am confident that every one of theM coming to Delhi will understand the responsibility that they bear will understand today that the other 180 countries of the world are looking to them to set directions and that they cannot afford to fail them.” Prime Minister Modi in his inaugural address to the summit on 12 January had called for a global agenda of 4Rs – Respond, Recognise, Respect and Reform. Modi, explaining further, as per The Diplomat magazine, said that “this meant responding to the priorities of the Global South, recognising the principle of ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibilities’, respecting the sovereignty of all nations, and reforming international institutions to make them more relevant.” Billed as the “largest” digital conference, the summit saw the presence of 125 countries, including 29 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 47 African nations, seven countries from Europe, 31 Asian countries, and 11 countries from Oceania, according to Hindustan Times. [caption id=“attachment_12955862” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] India has walked the talk on raising issues of the Global South nations during G20 meetings. PTI (Representational Image)[/caption] Calling for a “human-centric globalisation” Modi told the summit that “India’s G20 presidency will attempt to voice the views of the Global South" on important issues. In June, India held a two-day event on international taxation in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, along with South Centre, a Geneva-based intergovernmental policy research think-tank of 55 developing countries. The finance ministry in a press release stated, “Under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has strived to champion the concerns and aspirations of the Global South during its G20 presidency. The focus of this event was to address the pressing tax challenges emerging from the digitalisation of the global economy and explore solutions that promote inclusivity and fairness”. ALSO READ: Why India’s G20 presidency is significant What do experts say? Speaking to The Hindu, Hiroyuki Akita, Tokyo-based strategic affairs commentator at Nikkei, said it is in Japan’s interest that India plays a lead role in promoting the interests of the Global South. “Japan sees a rivalry over the leadership of the ‘Global South’ between India and China, and it is in the interest of Japan and the G-7 that India plays a leading role in the ‘Global South’, not China,”  Akita added. “As Chairman of the G-7 this year, it’s been a priority for Japan to collaborate with India as a bridge to narrow the divide on many issues between the G-7 and the G-11, that is the rest of the G-20 except for China and Russia, which are trying to counter the G-7 world order,” he added. India to push for AU membership in G20 According to The Hindu report, India is placing its bets on making its presidency a success by pushing for the membership of the African Union (AU) in the G20. The report says that there is “much support” for India’s AU proposal because of two reasons. Firstly, this is the first time that the G20 troika – Indonesia, India and Brazil – consists of three developing and emerging economies. Secondly, the present G20 is seen as “over-representing” Europe, as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union (EU) make up a quarter of the grouping. While Russia and China, who want no reference to the Ukraine war in a G20 document, are already posing a challenge for India’s presidency to bring all leaders on board to forge a joint statement, the induction of AU members can prove a “bright spot” for the country, the newspaper noted. With inputs from agencies