Tokyo, March 8 (IANS) Highlighting China’s absence in the two Global South summits hosted by India last year, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar took a swipe at the Asian giant on Friday saying that a lot of countries are not always comfortable with the word “Global South”.
Speaking at the Nikkei Forum on the India-Japan partnership in Tokyo, the minister also underlined that the countries of the Global South, numbering around 125, “feel for each other” and believe in India.
“I see a lot of countries… not always comfortable with the word Global South. So that itself is worth thinking about…” S. Jaishankar said as he pointed out that the concerns of these least developed and developing nations were not even on the agenda of the G20.
On being asked about China being part of the Global South, the minister said: “I do not believe China was present during the two Global South summits we hosted”.
He noted that during the Covid-19 pandemic, many countries of the Global South felt that they were the last in the line to get the vaccine.
“These were not recognised by the major powers in the world… They even felt at the time when India became G20 President that their concerns were not even on the agenda of the G20 and they have a strong feeling about about this,” the minister remarked.
In an attempt to amplify their voices, India did two meetings for them last year as they “wanted to listen to 125 countries” and put before the G20 a set of issues, which he said, were their collective views.
Further, the minister said that Global South is “very popular” in the Asian and African continents and people there know “exactly what is happening, who’s speaking up for them, how their issues are getting on the table”.
“They don’t think it is a coincidence that it was under the Indian presidency that the African Union, which had long been promised a seat in the G20, got a seat. So the Global South believes us,” Jaishankar, who is on a three-day visit to Japan to cement bilateral ties, said.
This was EAM Jaishankar’s second swipe at China in 24 hours after he said that it is a cause for concern when a country does not observe written agreements with a neighbour.
Speaking at the first Raisina Roundtable in Tokyo on Thursday, the minister said: “…when a country, sort of, does not observe written agreements with a neighbour, then I think you have cause for concern, because it then raises a question mark about the stability of the relationship, and frankly, about intentions”.
–IANS
mi/svn
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
