G20 cannot deliver on its mandate without addressing Global South's concerns: Jaishankar

He was addressing the B20 summit held by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) in the run-up to the G20 summit in New Delhi.

The G20 cannot deliver on its core mandate of promoting economic growth if the concerns of the ‘Global South’ are not addressed, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday, with the Russia-Ukraine conflict overshadowing the summit of the intergovernmental forum to be held in New Delhi next month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the G20 summit in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. With the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France and the rest of the West wanting Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine high on the agenda, India has been worried over the possibility of the conflict overshadowing its own priority for the conclave – becoming the voice of the ‘Global South’ and raising the concerns of the developing nations in the premier forum for international economic cooperation.

The external affairs minister was addressing the B20 summit held by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) in the run-up to the G20 summit in New Delhi. He noted that the ‘Global South’ had largely been reduced to being a consumer rather than a producer and had not been able to reap the full benefits of economic change.

“They (Global South) not only did not reap the full benefits of economic change but often ended up saddled with unviable debts emanating from opaque initiatives. This was a gradually unfolding crisis in the making, but one that was accelerated rapidly by the multiple shocks of debt, Covid and conflict,” Jaishankar said, albeit avoiding a direct reference to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

India has been concerned over the possibility of the geopolitical tension triggered by the conflict eclipsing other issues on the agenda of the summit that it would host in its national capital next month.

Jaishankar on Sunday said that the core mandate of the G20 was to promote economic growth and development and it could not advance if the crucial concerns of the Global South in areas such as debt and finance, sustainable development, climate action, food security and women-led development were not addressed.

He stressed a “more diversified and more democratic” re-globalisation.

“We cannot be at the mercy any longer of a few suppliers whose viability could come into question by unanticipated shocks. This was starkly apparent when it came to health during the Covid pandemic, but it pretty much applies to everything else as well,” he said, adding that the compulsion to create more resilient and reliable supply chains was a really pressing one.