Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday strongly condemned civilian casualties in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and called upon the countries in the Global South to speak in one voice for greater global good.

“Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas is essential for global prosperity but we are all witnessing new challenges in West Asia. India has condemned the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel. We have emphasised the need for dialogue and diplomacy along with restraint for dealing with the situation,” he said in his address to the 2nd Voice of Global South summit hosted by India in virtual mode. He also noted that India has sent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians following his telephonic conversation with Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Modi called for cooperation among Global South countries within the framework of five Cs – “consultation, communication, cooperation, creativity and capacity building”.

The PM also mentioned forward movement at the G20 on several initiatives which would benefit the Global South. He described the Voice of Global South as the most unique platform for the changing world of the 21st century. “Our priority was to make the G-20 inclusive and human-centric on a global scale. Our effort was that the focus of G-20 should be on the development of the people,” he noted.

The PM said that it was with this objective that India organised the Voice of Global South Summit for the first time in January this year. “In more than 200 G20-related meetings held in different states of India, we gave prominence to the priorities of the Global South,” he said. The result was that India was successful in getting everyone’s consent on the issues of the Global South in the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration in September. He also talked about the African Union’s entry into the G20 as a permanent member at the New Delhi summit. “I cannot forget that historic moment, when the African Union was inducted into G20 as a permanent member with India’s efforts,” he said.

Talking about other achievements for the Global South under India’s G20 presidency, Modi said an unprecedented seriousness was shown this time on climate finance. There was consensus at G20 on providing finance and technology in easy terms to countries of the Global South for climate transition, he said.

India, he said, was of the view that new technology should not become a new source of widening the distance between North and South. Today, in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), there is a great need to use technology in a responsible manner. “To take this forward, an AI Global Partnership Summit is being organised in India next month,” he told the participants.