Prime Minister Modi calls on the Global South to fight terror and separatism

NEW DELHI: Amid global uncertainty, countries in the global South should work together to combat terrorism, extremism and separatism, besides strengthening health, food and energy security and bridging the technology gap, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

“We are already facing the challenges of climate change and now there are also concerns about health security, food security and energy security,” Modi said at the opening session of the third Voice of Global South Summit, hosted virtually by India. “Terrorism, extremism and separatism continue to pose a serious threat to our societies.”

He called on the bloc’s countries to unite.

“The need of the hour is for the countries of the global South to unite, speak with one voice and empower each other,” Modi said. “Let us learn from each other's experiences and share our skills. Let us work together to put our resolutions into action.”

New Delhi will share its capacities with developing countries to promote mutual trade, inclusive growth and advancement of sustainable development goals, the Prime Minister said.

India will make an initial contribution of $25 million to the Social Impact Fund, which was set up to accelerate the use of the country's digital public infrastructure (DPI) in the developing country, he said. Agreements have been reached with 12 partners from developing countries to share the India Stack and systems such as digital IDs and payments. The summit is taking place in an “atmosphere of uncertainty” as the world is still grappling with the impact of Covid-19 and new development challenges due to various conflicts, he said.

“The technology divide and new economic and social challenges related to technology are emerging,” Modi said. “The global governance and financial institutions built in the last century were not able to meet the challenges of this century.”

Development Agenda
India launched the Voice of Global South platform after assuming the G20 presidency in 2022 to identify the needs of developing countries so that they could be included in the agenda of the bloc of 20 largest economies. India hosted the first two summits virtually during its G20 presidency.

It also included proposals from countries in the Global South for the G20 summit in Delhi in September 2023. “The 'Voice of Global South' summit became a platform where we openly discussed issues and priorities related to development,” Modi said. India led the G20 with an “inclusive and development-oriented approach”, which led to the African Union gaining permanent membership in the G20, he added.

Modi referred to the creation of the Global DPI Repository, which represented the first multilateral consensus on digital infrastructure. “We are pleased that agreements have been reached with 12 partners from the Global South to share the India Stack,” he said. “To accelerate DPI in the Global South, we have created the Social Impact Fund. India will make an initial contribution of $25 million.”