India's summit gives voice to the global south

Zim Now Writer

South-South cooperation is increasingly becoming the driving force behind global economic recovery as well as re-energising the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, a Cabinet minister has said.

Addressing the inaugural Voice of the South Virtual Summit on Friday, Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza said the summit provided them with an opportunity to deliberate on and interrogate mutual challenges with the aim of proffering lasting solutions.

The summit is the brainchild of the India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his passionate drive to ensure that countries from the global south have an equal voice on the world stage.

"The Voice of the South Summit is being held at an opportune time when South-South Cooperation is increasingly becoming a driving force behind global economic recovery.

“In light of the currently obtaining global crisis we all face today, such as surging inflationary pressures emanating from Euro geo-political tensions as well as legacy effects of the Covid-19 pandemic," said Dr Nzenza.

The summit entailed numerous conversations at the ministerial level including the panel that Dr Nzenza was part of on Friday.

Dr Nzenza said that intra-South trade is now higher than before, accounting for about a quarter of world trade, underlining its potential to drive the global economic agenda.

There are four pillars, the minister said, on which economic development can leverage; namely innovation and technology, digital and technological revolution, technology and innovation as well as beneficiation.

For Zimbabwe, the country has rolled out fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for investors keen on pursuing opportunities in "brownfield" and "greenfield" projects.In an effort to shorten the time investors can have their papers processed, government established the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency, a one-stop shop investment centre,

Dr Nzenza added that Zimbabwe has opportunities in agriculture, mining, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and tourism among other sectors of the economy.

In his opening remarks at the Voice of Global South summit on Thursday, India’s PM Modi said the “world is in a state of crisis” and told the leaders of developing countries “your voice is India’s voice” and “your priorities are India’s priorities.

“We, the Global South, have the largest stakes in the future. Most of the global challenges have not been created by the Global South. But they affect us more

“In the last Century, we supported each other in our fight against foreign rule. We can do it again in this Century, to create a new World Order that will ensure the welfare of our citizens,” said PM Modi.

Zimbabwe and India have already made significant progress as they cooperate in areas like technical exchanges, ideas exchanges, investment and other areas. India’s has a significant diaspora presence in Zimbabwe while Zimbabwe has a strong presence in India through students in various tertiary institutions across the country.

India's ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr **Vijay Khanduja with** Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza

India has made a great effort in ensuring that its South-South cooperation mantra is a reality by touching the lives of ordinary citizens through donations of key medications including Covid-19 vaccines and numerous other initiatives.

India has also donated ambulances and has given loans for upgrading of electricity generation infrastructure in Zimbabwe.

The Voice of the South Virtual Summit was inaugurated by PM Modi on January 12, 2023 as an important collaboration platform on political, economic, social, environmental, cultural, and technical issues by nations that are classified in the global south.

The summit is aimed at achieving “Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose” and is in line with India’s vision to shape a positive G20 agenda through consultation with G20 countries and members of the global south.