Second Voice of Global South Summit

Context- The Prime Minister inaugurated a Global Center of Excellence named DAKSHIN at the Global South Summit.

Key Highlights

• Inauguration of DAKSHIN 
  • Prime Minister Modi inaugurated a Global Center of Excellence for South European Countries called DAKSHIN. 
  • The prime minister proposed the center at the first Global South summit in January.  
• Proposal to launch a satellite 
  • At the G20 summit, India proposed launching a satellite into orbit to monitor weather and climate in the Global South. 
  • The prime minister assured the summit that India would swiftly address the issue. 
• PM coined 5 ‘Cs’ for the Global South 
  • The 5 “Cs”: Consultation, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity and Capacity Building. 
• About the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 
  • The Prime Minister announced that India condemned the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. 
  • India also sent humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. 
  • Meanwhile, India  strongly condemned the civilian deaths  in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. 

What is the Global South? 

• There is no geographical line 

• • • Despite how it sounds, it is not actually a geographical term.  
    • Many countries in the southern part of the world are located in the northern hemisphere, such as India, China and all of northern Africa.  
    • Australia and New Zealand, both in the Southern Hemisphere, are not part of the Global South.  

• Brandt Line as the boundary 

• • • Many people call the Brandt line the limit. 
    • Former German Chancellor Willy Brandt proposed the line in the 1980s as a visual representation of the North-South divide based on GDP per capita. 
    • It begins in northern Mexico, stretches across the top of Africa and the Middle East, circles around India and China, and then descends to cover most of East Asia. 
    • This does not include Japan, Australia or New Zealand.  

• Global South as a concept 

• •  The Global South is a geographical, geopolitical, historical and developmental concept, all at the same time – with exceptions.  

India has emerged as the voice of the Global South 

• • One of the various visions of G20 presidency 
    • When India assumed the presidency of the G20 on December 1, 2022, it presented different visions for the country and the year-long presidency, and the Global South was one of them.  
    • India organized eight ministerial thematic sessions to address the most pressing issues facing developing countries. 

• Raised issues related to the Global South 

• • • At international forums and UN meetings and conferences.  
  • During the Covid-19 pandemic 
    • Vaccines produced in India have been sent to about 100 countries. 
    • During this time, World Pharmacy brought medicines to about 150 countries. 

• Organize the Voice of the Global South Summit 

• • • India is all set to host the Global South Summit in January 2023 with representatives from 125 countries.  
    • India even ensured that the region remained central to the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May this year. 
    • The African Union as a full member of the G20 group during the presidency of India. 

• 15th BRICS Summit in South Africa 

• • • Prime Minister Modi said at the summit that the Global South is not just a diplomatic term but represents the common history of these countries against colonialism and apartheid  on which modern relations are built. 

• A two-day international tax event 

• • • To articulate the views of the Global South on important international issues, India’s National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT) organized a two-day event on international taxation. 
    • This event was an initiative of the Indian Presidency to strengthen the capacity of the Indian Revenue Service in the field of international taxation from a Global South perspective.  

• India-UN Capacity Building Initiative 

• • In September 2023, the India-UN Capacity Building Initiative was announced at  India-UN for the Global South Delivery for Development.  
  • The initiative aims to share land and best practices with partner countries in the Global South.

Source: Indian Express

Practice question:

Q.What diplomatic steps has India taken to articulate the interests of the Global South in international politics?

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