Jaishankar outlines multi-pronged Global South strategy at UN meet

EAM S. Jaishankar urged Global South nations to adopt a multi-pronged strategy for political, diplomatic, and technological cooperation, citing vaccines, digital tools, and AI as areas for collaboration, while also pushing for UN reform and stronger multilateralism.

United Nations: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has proposed a multi-pronged approach by the countries of the Global South to harness their strengths and address emerging challenges.

At what was billed as the high-level meeting of “Like-Minded Global South Countries” that he convened on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session on Tuesday, he said that they should join together to find solutions to matters ranging from politics and diplomacy to development and technology.

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Eighteen countries from across the globe with a variety of political and economic systems and levels of development participated in the meeting.

They included Singapore, Indonesia, Nigeria, Cuba, Chad, Jamaica, Vietnam, Mauritius, and Morocco.

The forum was part of the efforts by India to leverage its strengths as the voice of the Global South.

Maldives Foreign Minister said, “The strength of the Global South lies in its unity, and collective action”.

He listed climate action, Security Council reform, and development financing as areas the Global South should pursue jointly.

Reflecting the sentiments of the participants, he said, “Maldives will continue to work with like-minded countries to promote inclusive growth, and resilient development pathways”.

Jaishankar said that they could use their specific strengths, experiences, and achievements to benefit fellow Global South nations.

He cited vaccines, digital capabilities, education capacities, agricultural practices, and small and medium enterprise culture as areas they could collaborate on.

Looking to the future, he said, they should discuss the promise of technologies on the horizon, especially artificial intelligence.

On the diplomatic and political front, he proposed working together for the reform of the UN and multilateralism.

They should also use the existing forums to build solidarity, he said.