New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday said that the Global South’s rights and expectations, developed over decades, are now under serious threat. Speaking at the High-Level Meeting of Like-Minded Global South Countries in New York, he warned that the challenges faced by developing nations have intensified in the first half of this decade. These include the aftershocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, extreme climate events, volatility in trade, uncertainty in investment flows and interest rates, and the sharp slowdown of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda.
Jaishankar noted that in the face of such multiple risks, it is natural for the Global South to turn to multilateralism for solutions. However, he cautioned that multilateral institutions themselves are under strain, with international organisations becoming ineffective or starved of resources. “The building blocks of the contemporary order are starting to come apart, and the cost of delaying much-needed reforms is today starkly visible,” he said.
Calling for collective action, the minister urged Global South nations to adopt a united approach to world affairs and embrace fair, transparent economic practices. He proposed measures to enhance cooperation, including more South-South trade, investment, and technology collaborations, as well as building resilient and diversified supply chains to reduce dependence on any single supplier or market.
