New Delhi [India], November 18 : In a resounding address to the Trade Ministers' session at the 2nd Voice of the Global South Summit, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for the "collective voice of the Global South" to reverberate in global dialogues.
The Second Voice of the Global South Summit was held virtually on Friday.
"PM Narendra Modi has underscored the need for the collective voice of Global South to be heard whenever and wherever the world looks for solutions to global challenges," Union Minister Goyal said, addressing the summit.
Goyal emphasised the recognition of India's G20 Presidency for its "concrete and action-oriented decisions taken to make supply chains more resilient and inclusive."
"The 'G20 Generic Framework for Mapping GVCs', will help Global South partners become an integral part of global value chains and generate more prosperity for their people," Goyal added.
Addressing the challenges of an AI-driven era, Goyal outlined India's commitment to "pursuing the use of technology to enhance fair and equitable global trade."
He specifically pointed to the digitization of trade documents as a transformative measure, foreseeing a widespread adoption of a paperless trading system globally, ultimately reducing the cost of conducting trade. "Digitisation of trade documents will lead to a widespread paperless trading system globally, reducing the cost of doing trade," the Union Minister also said.
Goyal reiterated India's dedication to the 'Aid-For-Trade Initiative' at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), signalling the country's commitment to mobilising necessary resources. "India will continue to pursue enhanced mobilisation of necessary resources for the 'Aid-For-Trade Initiative' at the WTO to enable developing countries, especially the least developed countries, to effectively participate in global trade," he said.
The Union Minister stressed the importance of greater participation in the initiative to upgrade the International Trade Centre's Global Trade Helpdesk portal into a comprehensive One-Stop Hub for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
"Greater participation in the initiative for the upgradation of the International Trade Centre's Global Trade Helpdesk portal into a One Stop Hub for MSMEs will help them better integrate into global trade," he added.
Earlier in the day, Goyal called for making global value chains more resilient and inclusive using the framework adopted during India's G20 presidency.
Speaking at the 2nd Voice of the Global South Summit, the Union Minister said that most of the global challenges have not been created by the countries of the Global South, but they are the ones most affected by them.
The Union Minister further emphasised that the G20 Summit under India's presidency took concrete steps towards strengthening the voice of the Global South.
The Second Voice of the Global South Summit focused on sharing with countries of the Global South the key outcomes achieved in various G20 meetings over the course of India's presidency.
The theme of the inaugural leaders' session is 'Together, for Everyone's Growth, with Everyone's Trust' and that of the concluding leaders' session is 'Global South: Together for One Future', the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
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