At the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, India’s message reiterated its commitment to the ‘Global South’ group of developing countries. During his address on the opening day of the Summit, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the challenges faced by the countries of the Global South and emphasised that it should be a priority area in global discussions.

The Global South

The Global South is a bloc of developing nations from different continents, such as Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania. It includes emerging economic superpowers like India and China, emerging economies like Brazil and Indonesia, and other developing countries. Collectively, it represents a significant population base and economic power. Simultaneously, it is home to marketplaces that developed countries with advanced economies and multinational corporations are seeking.

At the same time, the challenges faced by the Global South countries are multiple. The Global South comprises some large, some emerging, some surviving, and many poorer economies. Most of the 45 least developed countries, categorised by the United Nations, are Global South countries. They perennially face issues like food crises, hunger problems, inadequate health infrastructure and civic amenities, heavy debt, terrorism, and civil wars. These countries need humanitarian treatment and global outreach to address these issues as a priority. They need a level playing field and global assistance to grow towards a sustainable condition.

A collective voice for them would be a balancing tool towards a more equal world in global policymaking. Countries of the Global South need fair discussions and agreements on issues like trade and trade barriers; discussions and decisions on many WTO norms that developing countries allege are tilted in favour of advanced economies; discussions and decisions on intellectual property rights and health-related issues, as seen during a global health crisis like COVID or in the treatment of deadly diseases like HIV or cancer or other serious mass-diseases like blood pressure or diabetes; discussions and decisions on food and nutrition availability to every needy person on Earth, of any country, with no subsidy bar or exemptions based on humanitarian needs.

On the contrary, global geopolitics doesn’t give proper weight to these poorer countries in international economic and political discussions and the policies made thereafter.

India’s Leadership Role and Historical Initiatives

Given the pressing needs and challenges of the Global South, a strong voice advocating for their interests is crucial. India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, has emerged as a credible and democratic leader on the world stage and is effectively playing this role. This is not a new position for India; the country has a long history of championing the cause of developing nations.

India is seen as a leader of the Global South with its historical initiatives. The Indian culture of shared mutual interests, with the country being a responsible democracy, aligns well with the development objectives of other developing countries.

India is a large market and is emerging as a manufacturing hub and a defence supplier. More importantly, for other developing countries, India wants to be their partner as a friendly country. The country pushing for inclusion of the African Union (AU) as a permanent G20 member is a testament to that. The Indian Prime Minister wrote to the G20 leaders in June 2023, proposing that the African Union be given full membership, to be adopted at the G20 Delhi Summit under India’s G20 presidency. This idea was germinated during the first ‘Voice of the Global South Summit’ held by India in January 2023.

This commitment to the Global South is rooted in India’s own experiences. In the recent past, post-1950, India has led different groupings of these developing countries, many being poorer nations. India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan sponsored the 1955 Bandung Conference. The US-Russia Cold War dominated the world then, and 29 Asian, West Asian, and African nations in the conference demanded equality and self-determination.

Following this, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was established in 1961. Today, it is a transcontinental bloc of 120 nations. India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru led the movement alongside Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser, Indonesia’s Sukarno, and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah. The main objective of NAM was to oppose colonialism, promote multilateralism and national self-determination, and adopt a neutral stand in the Cold War.

The Group of 77 (G-77) was formed by 77 developing countries in 1964, including India. Currently, it has 134 members and is the largest intergovernmental organisation of developing nations in the United Nations. The organisation aims to promote South-South cooperation for development. It is a collective voice for the countries of the Global South looking for reforms within the UN environment and strengthens their collective negotiating capacity on international economic issues being discussed within the UN system and related policy changes. G77’s official website shows China’s name as one of the member countries, but China now doesn’t consider itself a G77 member.

Carrying forward this legacy of leadership, India actively used the platform of the Rio G20 Summit to advocate for the Global South. During his remarks at the opening session on 18th November, the Prime Minister proposed prioritising the Global South in addressing the ongoing food, fuel, and fertiliser crisis exacerbated by global conflicts. Ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the West Asia crisis including the Israel-Palestine war, and its extension to Lebanon and Iran and have seen disruptions in the global supply chains.

He stressed that successful discussions must consider the challenges faced by these nations. To amplify the voice of Global South countries, the Prime Minister highlighted the historic decision to grant permanent G20 membership to the African Union during the New Delhi Summit under India’s G20 Presidency. He reiterated India’s commitment to reform the institutions of global governance to reflect developing countries’ needs and priorities.

Beyond the G20 and the country’s towards developing nations, as seen in its historical initiatives mentioned above, India has taken further steps to strengthen its engagement with the Global South.

On 17 August 2024, India held the third ‘Voice of Global South Summit’, of the Global South leaders in a virtual format with “An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future” as its theme. 173 dignitaries from 123 countries participated, including 21 Heads of State and 34 foreign ministers. The Summit follows India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, and Sabka Prayas, building a co-existence with India’s philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or “One Earth, One Family, One Future.” Before it, India held the first and second ‘Voice of Global South Summits’ in 2023. The country has also orgainsed four ‘India – Africa Forum Summit’ summits with African countries so far.