India keen to present views of ‘global south’ at G-20: FM Sitharaman

G-20 president India is keen to put forward the viewpoint of the ‘global south’, in order to make the world economic order equitable, including through reforms in multilateral institutions, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday.

Sitharaman was speaking at the Voice of Global South Summit, a virtual summit spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the aim of presenting at the G-20 the issues of emerging and low-income nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Around 120 nations are attending the summit.

“India appreciates the contribution of multilateral institutions and development banks in dealing with global challenges. However, with new challenges having emerged, including the Covid-19 pandemic, a major scale up of response mechanisms is required and strengthening of multilateral institutions is a priority,” Sitharaman said.

India has said that one of its aims as G-20 president will be to push for reforms in the likes of International Monetary Fund and World Bank to make them more attuned to the needs of the developing world.

‘Global South’ is a term used to describe emerging and poorer nations in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania, as opposed to the ‘Global North’, which are primarily developed nations from North America and Europe.

Sitharaman said that the global debt crisis is one of the biggest challenges that the world faces today, as many low-income countries are stuck between servicing outstanding sovereign debt and providing basic services for their citizens.

She said that India aspires to contribute to global economic reforms through G-20, through its presidency and intends to take the global south’s legacy forward, with the country’s G-20 presidency an opportunity to build trust in multilateralism.