Countries of Global South worst hit by global conflicts: PM Modi at G20 summit

US President Joe Biden, Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are among the leaders attending the two-day summit at Rio de Janeiro's Modern Art Museum.

New Delhi: The countries in the ‘Global South’ were worst hit by the conflicts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday even as India extended its support to Brazil’s initiative to launch a global alliance against hunger and poverty despite the opt-out by Argentina.

“We support Brazil’s initiative for a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. This is an important step towards the implementation of the Deccan High-Level Principles for Food Security, adopted at the New Delhi Summit,” Modi said at the G20 session on “Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty”.

The Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty was mooted by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, the host of the G20 Summit 2024.

The prime minister also highlighted his government’s initiatives and success stories, including the one about lifting 250 million people out of poverty in the last 10 years.

“I would like to say that countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel, and fertilizer crisis caused by global conflicts. So, our discussions can only be successful when we keep in mind the challenges and priorities of the Global South,” Modi told fellow G20 leaders in Rio de Janeiro.

India has been standing up for the ‘Global South’ or the developing nations and speaking up on the impact of the conflicts – be it Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, or Israel’s offensive against Palestinians in Gaza – on them.

“And just as we amplified the voice of the Global South by granting permanent membership of G20 to the African Union during the New Delhi Summit, we will reform institutions of global governance.”

The Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty will raise resources and knowledge for the implementation of public policies and social technologies proven to be effective in reducing hunger and poverty around the world. It will be open not only to G20 members but also to all interested countries.

The Deccan High-Level Principles were adopted by the agriculture ministers of the G20 nations at a meeting held in Hyderabad in June 2023 when India was the chair of the premier forum for international economic cooperation.

It underlined the G20's collective responsibility in reinforcing and complementing efforts across geographies in response to global food security crises by facilitating humanitarian assistance to countries and populations in vulnerable situations, enhancing availability and access to nutritious food, and strengthening food safety nets, strengthening policies and collaborative actions for climate resilient and sustainable agriculture and food systems strengthening resilience and inclusivity in agriculture and food value chains, promoting the one health approach; accelerating innovation and the use of digital technology and scaling up responsible public and private investments in agriculture.

All the G20 leaders supported the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty proposed by Brazil, except Argentina’s right-wing President Javier Milei, who refrained from joining the initiative proposed by G20.