New Delhi, India, on Saturday reiterated its strong support for reforms of key multilateral institutions, saying it was an “indisputable” fact that the world order had failed to find solutions despite “critical challenges”.
Addressing the third virtual Voice of the Global South Summit hosted by India, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also called for the provision of low-cost finance and critical technologies to developing countries.
“It is an undeniable fact that despite the critical challenges facing the world order, no solutions have been found in the multilateral field,” he said, calling for a revival of multilateralism.
“The reason for this lies in both the aging and polarization of multilateral organizations,” he said at the summit’s foreign ministers’ meeting.
“Here too, India has advocated for reformed multilateralism and sought reforms of the multilateral development banks through the G20. As a group, we need to make our position clear,” Jaishankar said.
India has consistently pushed for reforms of multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, arguing that they must reflect the realities of today’s world.
The Foreign Minister presented his views on four concrete areas: strengthening economic resilience, climate change and energy transition, revitalizing multilateralism and democratizing digital transformation.
On economic resilience, he said the experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts and climate events have highlighted the need for reliable and resilient supply chains.
“In addition, there is also an urgent need to diversify production itself in different areas in order to reduce risks to the international economy,” he said.
“What we once demanded in terms of socio-economic justice is now an equally compelling logic for the whole world in terms of predictability,” he noted.
On climate change, Jaishankar said its risks, the costs of transition pathways and the availability of resources were the three big issues.
“During our G20 presidency, we have strived to put the transition to ‘just energy’ at the forefront. We must work together as a family to facilitate the flow of low-cost finance and essential technologies to the global South,” he said.
Jaishankar also stressed the importance of digital public infrastructure.
“Digital public infrastructure is a key driver of the change currently taking place in our country. Some of our experiences will be of interest to partners in developing countries,” he said.
“They could also benefit from digital exchanges and cooperation within the South,” he added.
Jaishankar also spoke about the impact of various conflicts and geopolitical tensions on the Global South.
“This meeting takes place at a time when the world is struggling with numerous conflicts, tensions and pressures. We, the countries of the global South, are particularly affected by this,” he said.
“The purpose of this exchange of views is to define our interests through this process. Therefore, the theme of this session is: Designing a unique paradigm for the global South,” he said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications.
