Is India emerging as the voice of Global South?

The third Voice of Global South Summit was hosted by India on August 17. Like the previous two summits hosted by India in its capacity as the G20 President in January and November 2023, the third edition too was held virtually.

The context of the latest summit was more to develop ideational convergence among the members of the Global South on the approach they would take towards developmental priorities and sustainable development goals. This is critical, as coherence and co-operation will be required when they all head to New York in September for the Summit of the Future — and for various other UN-related and international conferences to come.

India’s initiative was driven by the twin motivations to deepen solidarity within the camp, and to project its agenda. It also established the relevance of India’s development experience and achievements to the Global South, and New Delhi’s role as an important player and leader of the Global South. This is necessary, given the many contestants for the latter position, from China to Brazil to South Africa.

The summit had hits and misses. In terms of participation, this third summit could be considered a success. In all, 123 countries took part, 21 of them at the head of state or head of government level. A total of 34 foreign ministers, and 118 other ministers were present — a sizeable chunk of the Global South family.

The summit theme was ‘An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future.’ The summit did not intend to produce an agreed document nor announce a set of deliverables. So, what was discussed and what kind of consensus was achieved?

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar presented a substantive summary of the discussions at the leaders’ and the foreign ministers’ sessions. In the 10 points he listed, the most important related to the myriad problems faced by the Global South countries today: food, health and energy security issues, pressure on existing resources, and access to resources, realising the demographic dividend through employment and economic equity.

Let’s discuss six takeaways from the summit:

One, at the closing session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed a comprehensive ‘Global Development Compact’ and India’s willingness to share its experience and expertise in development partnerships. This compact, he assured, will be shaped by the development priorities set by the countries of the Global South themselves.

Two, having a human-centric, multidimensional and multisectoral approach to development. To advance this, New Delhi announced a contribution of $25 million for accelerating the use of Digital Public Infrastructure within the Global South and $3.5 million for trade promotion and technology-sharing within Global South countries. However, there is a need for more substantial financial resources to widen and expand the partnership to make a serious dent in the problems faced by developing countries.

Three, China which considers itself a member and leader of the Global South, was not invited to this nor to the previous two India-hosted summits.

Four, Jaishankar denied that there was “a power play” at the summit. He stressed, “it was more like a solidarity of countries with similar thoughts and similar interests, rather than a competitive one.” Yet, the competition to lead the Global South remains active; the power play is not with those inside the tent, but with those outside of it.

Five, there was a clear desire from several participants to have the summit continue in the future, given its utility and value in unifying the Global South and advancing its cause.

Six, the Global South Summit as a platform has survived India’s G20 presidency, indicating its likely continuation in the future.

In the end, the third summit may have added only marginally to the outcome of the previous two summits. The Indian government seems to believe that, given the essential perception that development challenges persist, purposeful endeavours to keep the Global South united and proactive in advancing its agenda must continue.

Post G20-New Delhi can pull off large international conferences, especially those like this summit. It reflects India’s capacity and its digital diplomacy. The next summit must reflect its substance, ability to follow through, actively share and chronicle experiences and solutions, and have visible achievements to be a realistic alternative to existing power structures.

(Rajiv Bhatia, a former ambassador, is distinguished fellow for Foreign Policy Studies, Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.