Why in news?
- The second Voice of Global South summit took place in virtual mode. This was the second time that India hosted the summit since January 2023.
- The first summit was themed as "Energy Security and development: Roadmap to Prosperity".
- It brought together 125 countries of the Global South to share their perspectives and priorities on a common platform in the run up to G20 Leaders Summit that was held in September 2023 in New Delhi.
What’s in today’s article?
- Global South
- News Summary
What constitutes the Global South?
- Not a geographical line
- Despite how it sounds, it is not really a geographical term.
- Many countries included in the Global South are in the northern hemisphere, such as India, China and all of those in the northern half of Africa.
- Australia and New Zealand, both in the southern hemisphere, are not in the Global South.
- Brandt Line as the border
- Many people refer to the Brandt Line as the border.
- The line was proposed by former German Chancellor Willy Brandt in the 1980s as a visual depiction of the north-south divide based upon per-capita GDP.
- It starts in the north of Mexico, goes across the top of Africa and the Middle East, makes a loop around India and China, and then goes down to include most of East Asia. It doesn't include Japan, Australia, or New Zealand.
- Global South as a concept
- The Global South is a geographical, geopolitical, historical and developmental concept, all at the same time — with exceptions.
India Emerged As The Voice Of Global South
- One of the various visions of G20 presidency
- When India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1, 2022, it set out various visions for the nation's year-long presidency and the Global South was one of them.
- India organized eight ministerial-level thematic segments to address the most pressing concerns of the developing world.
- Raised the issues concerning Global South
- On the international forums and at UN meetings and conferences.
- During Covid-19 pandemic
- Made-in-India vaccines were sent to about 100 countries. And about 150 nations imported medicines during this period from the Pharmacy of the World.
- Hosted the Voice of Global South Summit
- India hosted the Voice of Global South Summit virtually in January 2023 with representatives from 125 countries.
- India even ensured that the region remained centre stage at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in May this year.
- African Union as a full member of the G20 under India’s presidency.
- The 15th BRICS Summit in South Africa
- During this summit, PM Modi said that the Global South is not just a diplomatic term but represents the shared history of these countries against colonialism and apartheid based on which modern relations are being reshaped.
- Two-day event on international taxation
- In an attempt to voice the views of the Global South on important international issues, India held a two-day event on International Taxation at the National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT).
- This event was an initiative of the Indian Presidency to bolster capacity building for Indian tax officials in the area of International Taxation, with a global south perspective.
- India-UN Capacity Building Initiative
- In September 2023, the “India-UN Capacity Building Initiative” was announced at the event India-UN for the Global South-Delivering for Development.
- The initiative aims to share the country's best practices with partner countries in the Global South.
News Summary: Second Voice of Global South Summit
- India hosted the second Voice of Global South Summit (VOGSS) in virtual mode.
- The theme of the inaugural leaders’ session was ‘Together, for Everyone’s Growth, with Everyone’s Trust’ and that of the concluding leaders’ session was ‘Global South: Together for One Future’.
- Summit would focus on sharing with countries of the Global South the key outcomes achieved in various G20 meetings over the course of India's Presidency.
Key highlights of the summit
- Inauguration of DAKSHIN
- PM Modi inaugurated a global centre for excellence for the Global South countries called DAKSHIN.
- PM had proposed setting up the centre during the first Voice of Global South Summit in January.
- Proposal to launch a satellite
- During the G20 Summit, India proposed to launch a satellite for monitoring weather and climate monitoring for Global South.
- During this summit, PM assured that India is working on it at a fast pace.
- PM coined 5 ‘Cs’ for the Global South
- 5 ‘Cs’: consultation, cooperation, communication, creativity & capacity building.
- On Israel-Palestine conflict
- PM noted that India has condemned the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7.
- India also sent humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine.
- At the same time, India also strongly condemned the deaths of civilians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.