Current Affairs Date: 02 June 2023

⇒ India hosted a two-day special virtual Summit – “Voice of Global South Summit 2023” on 12-13 January 2023.

India convened this one-of-a-kind Summit to focus international attention on priorities, perspectives and concerns of the developing world. It saw participation of Leaders and Ministers from 125 countries of the Global South.

Theme:

The theme of the Voice of Global South Summit 2023 was “Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose”.

Sessions:

The Summit encompassed inaugural and concluding sessions at Head of State/Government level, and hosted by the Prime Minister, and 8 Ministerial sessions hosted by respective Cabinet Ministers of India.

Inaugural Leaders’ Session:

• • The summit was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 12th January 2023 as an important group of nations to collaborate on political, economic, social, environmental, cultural, and technical issues.
  • The theme of the session was ‘Voice of South: For Human-centric development.’
  • During this session, the participating countries were Bangladesh, Cambodia, Guyana, Mongolia, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

Concluding Leaders’ session:

• • The Summit wrapped up on 13 January with a Concluding Leaders’ Session also hosted by Prime Minister.
  • The Concluding Leaders’ session was based on the theme ‘Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose.’
  • During the Concluding Leaders’ session, Prime Minister announced a number of new initiatives by India in connection with the Voice of Global South Summit. These include:
    • Aarogya Maitri
    • Global South Centre of Excellence
    • Global South Science and Technology Initiative
    • Global South Young Diplomats Forum
    • Global South Scholarships
  • During this session, the participating countries were Ecuador, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Peru, Sri Lanka, Suriname.

8 Ministerial sessions:

Finance Ministers’ Session:

• • Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the Finance Ministers’ Session of Voice of Global South Summit–2023 themed as “Financing People Centric Development”.
  • During this session, the participating countries were Belize, Chad, Colombia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Lebanon, Lesotho, Mauritius, Nepal, Zambia, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan.

Environment Ministers’ Session:

• • Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, Shri Bhupender Yadav addressed the Environment Ministers’ Session of Voice of Global South Summit–2023 themed as “Balancing growth with environment friendly lifestyles (LiFE)”.
  • The session was attended by ministers from fourteen countries of the Global South, namely, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Moldova, North Macedonia, Palau, Sao Tome & Principe, Seychelles, Tajikistan, Togo, Tuvalu.

Foreign Ministers’ Session:

• • External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar addressed the Foreign Ministers’ Session of Voice of Global South Summit–2023 themed as “Priorities of the Global South – Ensuring a Conducive Environmen”.
  • During this session, the participating countries were Armenia, Botswana, El Salvador, Georgia, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Maldives, Oman, Panama, Tunisia, Uganda.

Energy Ministers’ session:

• • Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep S Puri addressed the Energy Ministers’ session of “Voice of Global South Summit–2023” themed as “Energy Security and development: Roadmap to Prosperity”.
  • The session served as a platform to generate ideas from the developing world for achieving energy security, which is affordable, accessible and sustainable.
  • The session had representation of Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, Energy / Petroleum Ministers from Algeria, Bahrain, Belarus, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Namibia, Somalia, Syria, Vanuatu, Venezuela and the Deputy Minister of Azerbaijan.

Commerce and Trade Ministers’ Session:

• • Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal, hosted the Commerce and Trade Ministers’ Session on 13 January.
  • The theme of the session was ‘Developing Synergies in the South: Trade, Technology, Tourism, Resources.’
  • Hon’ble Ministers from 13 countries, namely, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Haiti, Malaysia, Myanmar, South Sudan, Timor Leste, and Zimbabwe, participated in the Session.

Health Ministers’ Session:

• • Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya chaired the Health Ministers’ virtual session of “Voice of Global South Summit – 2023” themed as ‘Cooperation to build resilient healthcare systems.’
  • During this session, the participating countries were Bhutan, Cameroon, Dominica, Eswatini, Grenada, Guatemala, Liberia, Malawi, Niger, Paraguay, Samoa, St. Kitts & Nevis.
  • The session served as a platform to generate ideas from the developing world for holistic healthcare.

Education Ministers’ Session:

• • Minister of Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan addressed the Education Ministers’ Session of Voice of Global South Summit–2023 themed as ‘Human Resource Development and Capacity Building.’
  • During this session, the participating countries were Barbados, Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Lao PDR, Micronesia, Nauru, Solomon Islands, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenadines, The Bahamas, The Gambia, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, Yemen.

Foreign Ministers’ Session on G-20:

• • External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar addressed the Foreign Ministers’ Session on G-20 of Voice of Global South Summit–2023 themed as ‘G20: Suggestions for India’s Presidency.’
  • During this session, the participating countries were Albania, Antigua & Barbuda, Chile, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Mali, Mauritania, Philippines, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Serbia, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, UAE.