India to set up Global South Centre of Excellence, says PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the setting up of a Global South Centre of Excellence to undertake research on developing solutions and best practices that will help developing countries.

“I am happy to announce that India will establish a Global South Centre of Excellence,” PM Modi said on Friday at the Concluding Leaders’ Session of the Voice of Global South Summit.

“This institution will undertake research on development solutions or best practices of any of our countries, which can be scaled and implemented in other members of the Global South,” he explained.

Citing an example of such development of solutions, PM Modi said the digital public goods developed by India in fields like electronic payments, health, education, or e-governance, can be useful for many other developing countries.

“India has also made great strides in areas like space technology and nuclear energy. We will launch a ‘Global South Science and Technology initiative’ to share our expertise with other developing nations,” he added.  PM Modi made a strong case for globalisation that does not lead to unequal distribution of vaccines or over-concentrated global supply chains.

“We want a globalisation that brings prosperity and well-being to humanity as a whole. In short, we want a ‘human-centric globalisation’,” he pointed out.

India convened this one-of-a-kind Summit to focus international attention on priorities, perspectives and concerns of the developing world.

This is particularly relevant as the world passes through a difficult period marked by challenges to health, food security, affordable access to energy, climate finance and technologies, and economic growth, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press statement

PM Modi presided over the Inaugural Leaders’ session on January 12. This was followed by eight Ministerial-level thematic segments dedicated to addressing the most pressing concerns of the developing world. The Summit wrapped up on January 13 with a Concluding Leaders’ Session also hosted by the Prime Minister.

The participating leaders appreciated and congratulated the leadership of PM Modi in hosting the Summit at a crucial juncture. They expressed hope that the Summit would serve as a catalyst for building a prosperous and inclusive future for the world that considers the Global South’s needs.