The finance minister said India would use its G20 Presidency in 2023 to encourage collective solutions to deal with these challenges.
Flagging risks associated with rising global debt vulnerabilities, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday told the ”Global South” peers that India’s G20 presidency priority will be to seek financing for sustainable development and enhancing socio-economic development through innovative, responsible and cost-efficient digital public goods.
“We continue to face an economic slowdown, rising inflation, the threat of the resurgence of the pandemic and the risks emerging from geo-political conflicts. As we seek to rebuild from the pandemic, the Global South should continue to exhibit strong solidarity,” Sitharaman said addressing the finance ministers of the bloc.
The ‘Global South’ largely refers to countries in Asia, Africa and South America. India is hosting the Voice of Global South Summit with a participation of 120 countries.
In his remarks at the opening session of the two-day summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to pressing global challenges such as food and energy security triggered by the Ukraine conflict and climate change. The developing countries are feeling the impact of the situation though they were not responsible for it, Modi said.
The finance minister said India would use its G20 Presidency in 2023 to encourage collective solutions to deal with these challenges.
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“While maintaining close relations with developed countries, India is keen to put forward the point of view of the Global South — our co-passengers on the path of development for decades,” Sitharaman said.
“We strongly believe there should not be any first world or a third world, but just one world with a shared understanding for a common future,” Sitharaman said speaking on the theme of ‘Financing People Centric Development’.
The hardships posed by the pandemic have exposed vulnerabilities at all levels and shown that a major scale-up of response mechanisms is required so that the support provided by development financial institutions is responsive to country-specific needs.
“We believe strengthening multilateral development banks is a key to addressing the global challenges of the 21st century,” she said.
“If left unaddressed, these mounting debt vulnerabilities can trigger a global recession and push millions to extreme poverty. Under India’s G20 presidency, financing for the social dimension of sustainable development is an important priority,” the minister said.
While the majority of global efforts are being focussed on tackling climate issues, it is essential that world leaders also take into account the social dimension of development to tackle pressing issues like increasing social inequalities, she added.
https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/indias-g20-presidency-to-focus-on-sustainable-development-financing-fm-nirmala-sitharaman/2946416/
