Key for Global south to be active participants in shaping decisions: Kamboj

India's permanent representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj has said it is important for the Global South to be active participants in shaping global decisions as most global challenges have not been created by the Global South but affect it.

"As Prime Minister Narendra Modi eloquently expressed at the Voice of the Global South Summit in India in January 2023, most global challenges have not been created by the Global South, but they affect us more. This statement underscores the imperative for the Global South to be active participants in shaping global decisions," India's permanent representative to the UN said while addressing the 'South Rising: Partnerships, Institutions and Ideas' event in New York.

Kamboj said: "In our ever-evolving world order, we find ourselves amidst a dynamic landscape. Old conflicts in Europe have resurfaced, prompting crucial discussions. The Indo-Pacific, with its vision of openness and freedom, faces intricate challenges."

She further said that the global response to the health crisis has cast shadows over multilateral cooperation, affecting not just global health, but also the broader domains of development and climate change and multilateral institutions, once bastions of collaboration, grapple with addressing contemporary challenges effectively.

Meanwhile, Kamboj while addressing the India-UN for Global South: Delivering for Development event in New York, said, "...As far as India is concerned, our engagement with the Global South is not just a matter of policy, it is ingrained in the very fabric of our culture and philosophy. Earlier this month, the G20 New Delhi leaders' declaration reinforced our commitment to the comprehensive development of fellow developing nations."

Kamboj recalled that India during the Covid-19 pandemic extended a helping hand by providing made-in-India vaccines to nearly 100 countries and supplying medicines to 150 nations.

"Many of you would recall that throughout the Covid pandemic, India had extended a helping hand by providing made-in-India vaccines to nearly 100 countries and supplying medicines to 150 nations, earning us the moniker 'The Pharmacy of the World,'" Ruchira Kamboj said.

Kamboj said that India's development partnerships have expanded significantly. She said that the India-UN Development Partnership Fund at the United Nations has successfully developed a portfolio of 75 projects across 56 developing nations in six years.

"Meantime, our development partnerships have also expanded significantly, reaching 78 nations across diverse regions and we have, over the past decade, initiated 600 projects that stand as a testament to our goodwill for our friends," Kamboj said.

"Capacity building is also at the core of our development philosophy, and we have offered training to 200,000 individuals from over 160 countries, prioritizing the needs of our partners. At the UN, the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, a single country South-South initiative, has successfully developed a portfolio of 75 projects across 56 developing countries in just six years," she added.