'I don't believe China was present': Jaishankar jabs Beijing for skipping Global South Summits

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that China skipped two meetings of the Global South Summit convened by New Delhi even when 125 countries of the platform placed their trust in India.

Responding to a question whether China is a part of the Global South at the Nikkei Forum on the India-Japan partnership on Friday, Jaishankar said, “At the two Summits (Global South Summit), which we convened to listen to their concerns, I don’t believe China was present.”

#WATCH | Japan: On asked if China is part of Global South, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, "At the 2 Summits (Global South Summit), which we conveyed I don't believe China was present." pic.twitter.com/QdCUE6A3D7

— ANI (@ANI) March 8, 2024

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The External Affairs Minister said that countries of the Global South feel for each other on a number of issues.

“The feeling has been intensified by COVID because many countries of the Global South felt that they were the last in the line to get the vaccine. They even felt at the time when India became G20 President that their concerns were not even on the agenda of the G20,” added Jaishankar.

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He said India then convened two meetings of the voice of the Global South to listen to these 125 countries.

“So we did last year two meetings of the voice of the Global South because we wanted to listen to these 125 countries and then put before the G20 a set of issues which were the collective views of these 125 countries,” said the minister.

He said within Asia and Africa, Global South is very popular in those continents and know exactly who’s speaking up for them, and how their issues are getting on the table.

“They don’t think it is a coincidence that it was under the Indian presidency that the African Union, which had long been promised a seat in the G20, got a seat. So the Global South believes us,” said Jaishankar.

About India’s relationship with Russia and its criticism of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, he said, “Sometimes in world politics, countries pick one issue, one situation, one principle and they highlight it because it suits them. But if one looks at the principle itself, we in India know better than almost any other country.

#WATCH | Japan: When asked about India's stand on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, "My position would be that the world is a complicated place, and there are many important principles and beliefs in the world. What happens sometimes in world politics is… pic.twitter.com/dm2PU8Vil3

— ANI (@ANI) March 8, 2024

“Immediately after our independence, we experienced aggression, an effort to change our boundaries and even today parts of India are occupied by another country but we did not see the world respond saying, oh, there’s a great principle involved and therefore, let us all go with India.

“Today we are being told that there are principles involved. I wish I’d seen that principle in play for the last 80 years. I’ve seen those principles cherry-picked,” Jaishankar said.
“I would say injustice was done to us. I’m not advocating it should be done to everybody else. We have been very clear. My Prime Minister has stood next to President Putin and said we want to see the end to this conflict,” he said.

Jaishankar is on a three day visit to Japan which will conclude today. Prior to this, he was in South Korea, where he held meetings with several top leaders during his stay.

With inputs from agencies