India & the Global South should work collectively towards a new globalization paradigm, says EAM Jaishankar

India and the Global South should work collectively to a new globalization paradigm, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said.

In his virtual address at the Voice of Global South Summit's Foreign Ministers' Session on the G20 in Friday, EAM Jaishankar also said that global discussions should reflect their concerns.

"We should work collectively towards a new globalization paradigm which will be for the collective well-being of humankind, with a critical focus on vulnerable populations," he pointed out.

"While we promote faster rebalancing, more multipolarity and reformed multilateralism, it is imperative that the key global conversations of our times reflect our concerns and challenges," he explained.

During the address, he emphasized how the Covid-19 pandemic had added to the problems of unsustainable debt, unviable projects, trade obstacles, shrinking financial flows, and climatic pressure.

"The knock-on impacts of the Ukraine conflict further complicated the economic situation. The costs and availability of fuel, food and fertilizers had emerged as a major concern for many of us. So too has the disruption in trade and commercial services," he noted.

However, none of this has got the attention that it deserves in global councils, EAM Jaishankar pointed out.

Speaking about India's agenda for the G20 presidency, he stated that it will prioritize a new globalization paradigm centered on vulnerable populations and decentralization, breaking down barriers to accessing opportunities globally, working together to address issues with food and energy security, advancing agreement on the Green Development Pact of G20 Leaders, discussions on data for development, and stepping up efforts to share information.

Additionally, he reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Statement that this is not an era of war. He continued by saying that he had previously stressed the necessity of letting go of the "us vs. them" mentality and cooperating as one human family.

EAM Jaishankar also stated that India and the countries of the Global South not only have a common future but also a shared past. "Most of us shoulder the burdens of a colonial past, even as we face the inequities of the current world order," he said.

According to EAM Jaishankar, the Global South has consistently chosen the middle route, in which rivalry, conflict, and divides are prioritized over diplomacy, negotiation, and collaboration, from rejecting alignment to decolonization.

He claimed that constructing significant bridges takes time and patience in order to travel the path of peace, collaboration, and multilateralism. He continued by saying that if the interests of the Global South are to remain at its center, this is the path that the world must follow.