Statement by India at the 24th Meeting of the Council of Representatives of the South Centre delivered by Ambassador Arindam Bagchi, Permanent Representative of India to the UN & other International Organisations
Geneva, 18 April 2024, 10:00-13:00 hours at the Palais des Nations, Room VII
Under agenda item 8, General Statements from representatives
Thank you Chair for giving the floor.
2. Your Excellency President Thabo Mbeki, Chairperson of the Board, Amb. Ajit Kumar, Convener of the Council, Members of the Board, Professor Carlos Correa, Executive Director, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, Members of the Secretariat,
3. I would also like to convey my appreciation to His Excellency Thabo Mbeki, Chairperson for his leadership of the Board and to the Convener, Ambassador Ajit Kumar, for his efficient steering of the work of the Council of Representatives. Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate President Mbeki on his reappointment as Chairman of South Centre Board; Board members from India, Tanzania and Brazil on renewal of mandate and to Ambassador Mohamed Edrees for his appointment as a board member.
Excellencies & distinguished colleagues,
4. As a founding member and key financial contributor, India has always been a strong supporter of South Centre. Since its foundation in 1994, the research and advocacy support by South Centre in the areas of climate change, south-south cooperation, global health, intellectual property rights, international trade, international taxation issues, matters related to the right to development, sustainable development & financing and e-commerce have been highly appreciated by countries of the global South.
5. South Centre’s engagement with UN and other International Organisations like UNCTAD, WTO, WIPO, WHO, UNCITRAL etc. have also helped in highlighting the concerns and interests of developing countries and safeguarding our collective interest. Their invaluable research papers and conferences have also been instrumental in advocacy of key interests of Global South and also increased global awareness of the adverse fallout of the iniquitous nature of financial and development relations between the North and the South.
Excellencies & distinguished colleagues,
6. India has long believed that the global south is eminently capable of coming up with its own answers to the global challenges that is faced today. In order to achieve this, we also need to work towards self-reliance to mitigate our vulnerabilities vis-à-vis economic concentrations and reform the multilateral order, that is structurally not able to accommodate interests of global south in its entirety and to its satisfaction. Where any of us are successful in any domain, we must ensure exchange of best practices and also of scaling up. The work of South Centre can play a critical role in all these areas.
7. India’s firm belief in the voice of Global south was amply heard during India’s G20 presidency where we ensured that the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration put forth solutions on a range of domains such as digital public infrastructure, climate action, reforming international financial institutions, women-led development, education, Artificial Intelligence, to name a few.
8. A special initiative by India last year was the convening of the two virtual voice of Global South Summits, bringing together 125 countries of the Global South. Their perspectives and voice were articulated in the G20 platform, and we also shared with them the positive outcomes I from the perspective of the developing world in the G20 New Delhi declaration.
9. We have also reaffirmed our commitment to the Global South through an extensive range of development projects in 78 countries. The development projects by India are demand driven, outcome oriented, transparent and sustainable. As India embraces digital delivery, advances in Artificial Intelligence, develops digital public infrastructure, promotes green growth and ensures affordable health access, it will always have the global south at the centre of its international partnerships. We look forward to sharing our success stories with fellow members of Global South.
10. In a spirit of constructive engagement, let me bring out three key points at this distinguished gathering that we believe South Centre could possibly do in future:
11. First, with 30 years since the inception of the Centre, the world has witnessed profound changes in global economic and financial landscape. These changes have also been accompanied by rapid advancement in technologies, changes in the global geopolitical alignments and redrawing of power balances across the world. The priorities of the South Centre should continue to reflect shifting priorities of the developing countries and should be in lock and step with the demands of global south.
12. Secondly, there are more than 125 countries in the global south. While we have been successful in establishing South Centre as the premium think tank for the global south with a current membership of 55 states, we need to look at more ways to engage other countries. This may also help address the pressing issue of financial situation of the Centre.
13. And lastly, there is a lot of good work that the Centre has done in the past. There is a need to find out ways to showcase its success stories in advocacy and research so that we are able to encourage increased participation and cooperation by member countries.
14. Let me reiterate that South Centre’s past success and contribution is thanks to the unique nature of the Centre and the vision of its founding fathers as a member driven organisation that would be owned, in heart and soul, by the member states of the Global South. In the current global situation, the focus should be on how to bring development and technology to the footstep of every home and every family. A transformation is happening in the way emerging technologies and climate change are re-shaping our notions on governance, development and other qualifiers. I am happy to note that the Centre has already started working in some of these areas. However there is a need to put more effort in this direction.
15. We also seek continued support of South Centre in the negotiations currently underway in WHO and WIPO on treaties/ regulations which will have a profound impact in future; on matters related to various proposals being considered by WTO and expect the Centre to continue its advocacy work related to the reforms of International Taxation landscape and the discussions on UN tax Convention.
16. Before I conclude, I would also like to thank Dr. Correa and his team for presenting various reports of activities and finances of the South Centre. I take this opportunity to also assure continued and constructive support by the Indian Mission in Geneva to the South Centre.
I thank you.
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