GLOBAL
SOUTH SUMMIT – INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
News: PM
Modi addressed the inaugural session of the third Voice of the Global
South Summit (VOGSS).
What’s
in the news?
India
hosted the inaugural Voice of Global South Summit (VOGSS) in January 2023, and the
second edition in November 2023.oth the sessions were held virtually.
- The theme of the 3rd Voice of Global
South Summit is “An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future”.
Global South
- The term “Global South” was coined
by Carl Oglesby, an American political activist, in 1969.
·
He used the term to describe countries
suffering from political and economic exploitation by developed nations of the
Global North.
- In the simplest sense, Global South
refers to the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and
Oceania.
- Most of these countries, where 88
per cent of the world population lives, experienced colonial
rule and historically lagged in achieving substantial levels of
industrialisation.
- According to the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Global South countries
typically exhibit lower levels of development, higher income inequality,
rapid population growth, agrarian-dominant economies, lower quality of
life, shorter life expectancy, and significant external dependence.
- According to a World Bank report,
“the gross domestic product (GDP) of the South, which represented about 20
percent of world GDP between the early 1970s and the late 1990s, doubled
to about 40 percent by 2012.”
India
as the voice of Global South
- India, with its history of a leading
role in the Non-Aligned Movement and G77 through
the Cold War, has taken a considerable lead in assuming a leadership role
and representing the collective interests of the Global South countries.
- During the G20 Summit in Delhi in
2023, India succeeded in its efforts to induct the African
Union as a permanent member of the major economic bloc.
- The expansion, the first since the
formation of G20 in 1999, allows the African countries to voice their
economic concerns directly to the world’s most influential countries.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, India
distributed around 163 million doses across 96 countries
under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ humanitarian drive between January
2021 and February 2022.
- India’s digital public assets like UPI,
RuPay, and India stack, which are supporting such a large portion of
the Indian population, can be a powerful instrument for the digital
transformation of other developing and emerging countries.
Challenges
- India’s own past experience with
the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group-77
developing nations points to the real difficulty of uniting the
Global South in pursuit of common goals.
- The twin crises produced
by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine have had a
devastating and disproportionate impact on the Global South.
- Possible neglect of Africa: In
the rise of Asia, the continued neglect of Africa has been questioned as
well.
- Many developed nations in the Global
North have objected to China and India’s
exclusion from the Global South, given their increasing industrialisation.
Conclusion
- The recent resurgence of the Global
South reflects the evolving geopolitical landscape and the growing
influence of developing nations in global affairs.
- It is a platform to give voice
to the needs and aspirations of those who have been unheard till
now at a time when global governance and financial institutions formed in
the last century have been unable to fight the challenges of this century.
- The world should respond to the
priorities of the Global South, recognise the principle of common
but differentiated responsibilities for global challenges,
respect sovereignty of all nations, rule of law and reform international
institutions like the United Nations.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pm-modi-global-south-summit-strength-unity-9518792/