B20 Summit India 2023: Jaishankar highlights India's concrete support for the Global South

New Delhi, August 27: In a resounding affirmation of India's active engagement in addressing issues of the Global South, S Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs, emphasised during the B20 summit on Sunday that India's current trajectory encompasses a dynamic blend of experimentation, scaling up, deployment, innovation, and groundbreaking initiatives.

Reflecting on the nation's remarkable achievements, Jaishankar underscored how India's role as the 'Pharmacy of the World' was vividly demonstrated through its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, wherein 'Made in India' vaccines were dispatched to over 100 countries. The minister also highlighted India's swift and substantial assistance to nations facing turmoil, as exemplified in its immediate support to Myanmar and Turkey during times of distress.

Addressing a diverse audience at the B20 summit held in the nation's capital, Jaishankar eloquently stated, "Contemporary India is a nexus where the world witnesses a fusion of experimentation, scaling up, deployment, innovation, and groundbreaking endeavors. I stress these advancements not solely because they address a substantial fraction of the world's challenges, but due to their potential to serve as replicable models for other constituents of the Global South."

Elaborating on India's proactive involvement in advancing Global South interests, Jaishankar elaborated, "The measure of a nation's commitment and behavior often surfaces during stressful situations. Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, India's commitment was manifest in exporting Made-in-India vaccines to around 100 nations. Furthermore, approximately 150 countries sourced vital medicines from India, rightly recognized as the 'Pharmacy of the World'."

Jaishankar went on to elucidate how India's "development partnerships" have significantly expanded over the past decade, encompassing 78 nations across diverse regions. The minister proudly noted that a remarkable tally of 600 projects—either completed or underway—stand as a testament to India's goodwill and capability. "We firmly believe in the centrality of capacity-building to global development. This conviction is substantiated by the training imparted to more than 200,000 individuals from over 60 countries. Our approach is intricately aligned with the 'Kampala' principle articulated by Prime Minister Modi in 2018, wherein the priorities of our partners profoundly influence our course of action," he added.

Illustrating India's role as a frontline responder to crises extending beyond its borders, the minister noted, "India has consistently stepped forward as the first line of defense in situations involving disasters, emergencies, and conflicts, spanning from Fiji and Myanmar to Mozambique, Yemen, and Turkey. Emerging World 2.0 encapsulates an era characterized by diverse engines of growth, an equitable distribution of globalization's benefits, and enhanced dedication to achieving sustainable development goals while championing climate action."

Jaishankar remarked, "These dynamics pose not only challenges to policy-making but also impose profound responsibilities upon those who shape the tangible economy through their decisions and choices."

The Business 20 (B20) summit, a key G20 dialogue platform for the global business community, convened this year with the theme 'B20 India R.A.I.S.E: Responsible, Accelerated, Innovative, Sustainable, Equitable Businesses'. Spanning three days, the event commenced on August 25, drawing participation from over 1,500 delegates representing 55 countries.

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