Statement by India at the 18th Meeting of the Council of Representatives of the South Centre, delivered by Dr. Sumit Seth, First Secretary (Economic Affairs)  delivered on 10 April 2017. 

H.E. President, Mr. Benjamin Mkapa, Convener of the Council of Representatives Ambassador Dr. Abdul Minty 

1. We would like to thank the Secretariat for giving us an overview of the activities of the South Centre. At the outset, India would like to place on record its satisfaction and appreciation for the magnitude, range and superlative quality of the work done by the South Centre in support of developing countries in diverse areas of multilateral policy discussions and meticulously managing the organisation. 

2. We also thank the Convener Dr. Abdul Minty for providing leadership & guiding the work of the Council of Representative during the last year, which has resulted in the effective functioning of the South Centre. 

3. We’d like to specially acknowledge the presence of Dr. Y.V. Reddy, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, one of the leading minds. We are happy to note that his vast experience as an administrator, policy maker has enriched this institution. 

4. The Global South has a shared identity, commonality of interests and a reason to work together for similar objectives. The rich diversity that exists within this group provides an added cohesion. The bedrock of the South-South Unity is to expand various options available for development for the Global South. Each one of us can gain from the experiences of others, by emulating success studies and learn from each others mistakes. 

5. The North is facing its own internal challenges. These new challenges faced by the developed countries have a ripple effect on various multilateral institutions, particularly the United Nations, and other international financial and trade organizations. The North has not fully met its commitments as far as support to developing countries is concerned, and there is a risk that these commitments might get diluted further.  

6. South Centre, as an intergovernmental organisation of developing countries, has consistently and diligently helped unifying efforts and expertise of the south to promote their common interests in the international arena. The support provided by the South Centre at an intellectual and policy level has helped developing countries to act and negotiate at the global stage to safeguard their collective as well as individual interests. 

7. South Centre’s varied activities during the year 2016, as contained in the report presented today, as well as during the presentation of the Executive Director, gives us a clear picture of the work carried out by the South Centre and the direction towards which it is heading. The South Centre’s consistent support to Permanent Missions based in Geneva and even other places in the context of the multilateral negotiations has been extremely valuable.

8. 2016 began with the successes of the launching of the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development and the adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change. In the first major North-South negotiations took place during the preparations for UNCTAD XIV, which took place in Geneva culminating in Nairobi at UNCTAD XIV Conference in July 2016. Developing countries were successful in ensuring that the mandate of UNCTAD’s work is in sync with the priorities and needs of their countries and of the global economy. Developed countries efforts to dilute the mandate and limit UNCTAD’s scope, was thwarted. South Centre played an important role in this. 

9. The Non Aligned Movement Summit in Venezuela in September 2016, re-affirmed the continued relevance of the movement in the present globalised albeit fragmented world. We appreciate South Centre for its initiative to assist Venezuela, the current Chair of NAM -  in the activities of the Movement.

10. The range of work done by South Centre covering subjects such as sustainable development, climate change, intellectual property, South-South cooperation, technology transfer, access to knowledge, internet governance, health, trade agreements and food security, deserves our sincere appreciation.

11. We firmly believe that South Centre needs to continuously introspect and engage in internal appraisal exercise regularly. It needs to strive towards finding novel ways to remain relevant, contemporary and in tune with emerging challenges in the newer areas of negotiations such as establishment of cyber norms, Global Health Issues, Intellectual Property issues in the digital environment, research and policy analysis in uncharted domains  like Internet of Things, 3D Printing, Big Data Analytics, Data Privacy, e-Commerce, digital divide and their corresponding developmental challenges. 

12. India has increased its annual financial contribution to US Dollars 300,000. Also, India had provided an additional financial contribution of USD 270,000 for assisting the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) for supporting South Centre for its role in negotiations at the Conference of Parties (COP)-21 on Climate Change held in Paris. 

13. India stands ready to work with other Member States to strengthen South Centre and enhance its relevance. South Centre requires more financial assistance to be able to function more effectively in the years to come. However, enhanced funding per se won't be enough. South Centre needs new, innovative ideas and improved management and governance practice. The key is in optimisation of the existing financial and human resource. 

14. South Centre can play a very role for researchers, academicians and the public at large by providing scholarly material on subjects which are not covered by popular media. There is a case for making developmental economics more attractive among youth. Use of social media, generating audio-visual content with infographics, data visualisation, providing easy to understand explainers on complex subjects, in conjunction with the continues traditional research methodology will contribute significantly in building the capacity of this centre. 

15. Before concluding let me emphasise that India is confident that the South Centre will continue to provide the necessary cognitive reserves to the developing countries in their efforts to deal with complex, interdisciplinary multilateral issues under discussion at various UN and International Fora. India will continue to provide all possible support in this endeavour. South Centre is highly regarded institution with which some of the most respected names from India have been associated. 

16. With these words, I once again thank you Mr. Chairman and South Centre team for their worthy contribution. 

Thank you Mr. Chairman.