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India eager to share insights from the “global south” at the G-20 : FM Sitharaman

In order to make the global economic order more equal, particularly through reforms in multilateral organizations, G20 President India is eager to promote the development challenges of the Global South, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi organized the Voice of the Global South Summit, a virtual conference, with the goal of addressing the G20 the problems and difficulties faced by developing and low-income countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Sitharaman was speaking at the summit. The summit’s attendees represent about 120 countries. India has taken the initiative to include the voices of non-G-20 countries.

India recognizes the value of multilateral organizations and development banks in addressing global issues. However, the pandemic's challenges have shown weaknesses at all levels and demonstrated the necessity for significant scaling up of response mechanisms to ensure that the assistance offered by these institutions responds to demands that are particular to each country

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman Honble Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman Finance Minister of India

She added that the recent geopolitical unrest and the pandemic have increased the vulnerability of the world’s debt, saying “We believe strengthening multilateral development banks is a crucial to addressing the global issues of the 21st century.”

Sitharaman stated that India will utilize the G20 Presidency to promote group solutions to address the many problems the world is currently facing, including the global economic slowdown, rising prices, the threat of a pandemic revival, and hazards resulting from geopolitical conflicts.

We firmly think there should be just one world with a shared understanding of a common destiny, not a first world or third world, Sitharaman stated.

In order to make organizations like the International Monetary Fund and the Countries Bank more responsive to the demands of the developing world, India has often emphasized that one of its goals as a G20 presidency will be to press for reforms in those organizations.

In contrast to the “Global North,” which is mainly made up of rich countries from North America and Europe, the “Global South” is a term used to designate emerging and poorer nations in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania.

The global debt crisis, according to Sitharaman, is one of the largest problems the world is currently facing since so many low-income nations are forced to choose between paying off their outstanding sovereign debt and providing for their inhabitants’ fundamental needs.

The Global South must show “strong solidarity” while the world recovers from the pandemic in order to address problems like the pandemic, climate change, and geopolitical tensions, which are impeding development and economic growth.

“These growing debt vulnerabilities have the potential to cause a worldwide crisis and send millions into extreme poverty if not handled. “Financing for the social dimension of sustainable development is a key focus under India’s G20 chairmanship,” Sitharaman added.

Since most global efforts are being directed toward addressing climate change, the minister argued that in order to address urgent challenges like escalating socioeconomic inequality, international leaders must consider the social dimension of development.