India highlights issues of Global South

Grouping unable to agree on official joint statement over the conflict in Ukraine

- Rhik Kundu

GANDHINAGAR: India, the chair of the G20 presidency this year under the theme "One Earth, One Family, One Future," took up issues pivotal to the aspirations of the Global South in sessions attended by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Countries of the G20 grouping could not agree on a joint statement at the end of a meeting of their finance ministers and central bank governors, as the grinding war in Ukraine continued to polarise the bloc, which counts Russia, China, and the US as members.

"We have been able to take the issues to the G20 which the Global South had raised in 'Voice of the Global South Summit' which Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi had held," the finance minister said on Twitter on Tuesday. "We have been able to push the agenda of debt distress, which is happening in the Global South as well, and that there's a need for speedy & effective resolution. I'm glad that since February when we started talking about the issue, resolutions are now happening speedily and effectively," she said.

Sitharaman on Tuesday also met her Chinese counterpart Liu Kun on the sidelines of the G20 meeting on Tuesday and discussed various deliverables under India's presidency.