India Unites Global South at 2nd Voice of Global South Summit to Shape New World Order

India hosted 2nd Voice of Global South Summit

India hosted the 2nd Voice of Global South (VoGS) Summit on November 17, 2023 in a virtual format. This was the second such summit hosted by India in less than a year, after the inaugural summit in January 2023.

The VoGS Summit is an initiative started by India to provide a platform for countries of the Global South to share their perspectives on major global issues. The first VoGS Summit was held in January 2023 under the theme ‘Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose’.

Hosting the 2nd VoGS Summit highlights India’s continued efforts to give voice to the concerns of developing countries at global forums. The summit aims to build on the outcomes achieved during India’s ongoing G20 Presidency and find solutions to pressing challenges impacting the Global South.

In this article, the UCN Team provides a detailed analysis, presenting key concepts and insights on the Voice of Global South Summit.

Global South Centre of Excellence

India inaugurated Global South Centre of Excellence, a global centre of excellence for Global South countries called DAKSHIN during the summit.

India had originally proposed setting up such a centre during the first VoGS Summit held in January 2023. The centre has now been established as the Dakshin Development and Knowledge Sharing Initiative Global South Centre for Excellence.

At ‘Voice of Global South Summit’, India aims to ensure that the perspectives of developing countries gain prominence at global forums through initiatives like VoGS. The Global South Centre of Excellence will complement this objective by facilitating:

• Knowledge sharing between Global South countries
• Providing policy inputs
• Undertaking joint research
• Building capacities

The centre will give an institutional framework to sustain the momentum generated by forums like the VoGS Summit. It will promote technical cooperation and experience sharing among countries of the Global South.

India will establish a "Global-South Center of Excellence." pic.twitter.com/GO4LEyJYN5

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 13, 2023

About Voice of Global South Summit

What is VoGS Summit?

The VoGS Summit is an Indian initiative with the following features:

• It provides a common platform for countries of the Global South to share their perspectives on major global issues.
• It aims to find solutions for common challenges faced by developing countries.
• The summit is inspired by India’s vision of ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’.

Origin

• The summit was conceived considering recent global developments that have severely impacted the developing world. These include:
  • COVID pandemic
  • Ukraine conflict
  • Challenges related to food and energy security
• Existing global platforms have been deficient in handling the unique challenges and concerns of developing countries.
• Hence, India laid the foundation for the VoGS Summit to provide the Global South a platform to articulate their priorities and find solutions.

Global South

The term ‘Global South’ refers to countries in Asia, Africa and South America. It is used to categorize countries based on economic development and historical factors.

Major countries like India, Brazil, Indonesia etc are part of the Global South. The Global South comprises of developing countries that share common priorities and concerns.

Key Focus Areas

Outcomes of India’s G20 Presidency

During its G20 Presidency, India focused on highlighting issues relevant for the Global South. The summit will involve sharing key outcomes achieved in various G20 meetings over the course of India’s Presidency.

India was able to get topics of the Global South included in the G20 New Delhi Declaration through its efforts.

Challenges posed by global developments

The summit will also discuss challenges posed by recent global developments that have impacted developing countries disproportionately. The aim is to unite the Global South in finding solutions to such crises affecting their growth and development.- Likely to discuss challenges posed by events like COVID pandemic, Ukraine conflict etc.

Way Forward

The summit will discuss ways to sustain the momentum generated towards building a more inclusive and progressive world order. Concrete steps will be deliberated to give greater voice to the Global South in global governance.

Sessions

The 2nd VoGS Summit is structured into 10 sessions.

• The inaugural and concluding sessions are at Head of State/Government level and hosted by India.
• There will be 8 Ministerial Sessions on key sectors like:
  • Finance
  • Health
  • Education
  • Trade

Significance

The summit holds significance for India and the Global South in the following ways:

• It is an opportunity for India to give prominence to the concerns of the Global South at international forums like the UN.
• There is potential for greater cooperation between Global South countries in areas of shared priorities like climate change, healthcare, energy security etc.
• The summit can lead to technical and knowledge exchanges between developing countries facing common developmental challenges.

Final Thoughts

From the UCN team’s perspective, there are some key challenges facing the consolidation of the Global South:

• Impacts of Russia-Ukraine war on Least Developed Countries – The war has led to food and energy crises which have hit poor nations the hardest.
• China’s increasing influence through Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – China is deepening engagement with developing countries through BRI, raising concerns about debt traps.
• Climate reparations debate and India-China exclusion – Developed nations are divided on providing climate financing to emerging economies like India and China.

The unity and cooperation between Global South countries is being tested by geopolitical conflicts, competing influences and debates over climate justice. Managing these faultlines will be crucial for the group to articulate a common voice at global forums.