New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday strongly condemned Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel, as well as the rising civilian deaths due to the resultant conflict.
While he has previously issued statements on the Middle East war, this is the first time he has remarked on the conflict in person, on a public forum.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the second Voice of Global South Summit (VOGSS) — which India is hosting — the Prime Minister urged leaders to speak in one voice on such critical issues.
Modi told the virtual summit: “We are all seeing the new challenges emerging from the events in the West Asia region. India has condemned the terrorist attack in Israel on 7 October. We urged for a restrained response along with dialogue and diplomacy. We also strongly condemn the deaths of civilians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.”
While Modi’s previously issued statements condemned the Hamas attack and reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself, his latest comments reiterate India’s position that the militant group Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people.
Expressing his concern over civilian deaths due to the conflict, Modi also spoke about his conversation with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and India’s humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.
“This is the time when the countries of the Global South should unite for the greater global good,” he added.
India has so far sent 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began last month.
More than 1,200 people died in Hamas’s assault on Israel’s southern communities on 7 October, while Israel’s retaliatory aerial bombing and ground incursion has killed over 11,000 in the Gaza enclave, according to information released by respective authorities.
At the summit, Modi inaugurated DAKSHIN or the Development And Knowledge Sharing Initiative — a ‘Global South’ centre of excellence which will enable emerging economies to have a voice on world issues.
Modi said, “Geographically, the Global South has always existed, but it is getting a voice for the first time, and this is because of joint efforts. We are more than 100 countries but our priorities are similar.”
He also spoke of the 5 ‘Cs’, a commitment to which would power the growth of these countries. The Prime Minister calls them “consultation, cooperation, communication, creativity and capacity building”.
The theme of the summit’s first leaders’ session is ‘Together, for Everyone’s Growth, with Everyone’s Trust’, while that of the concluding Leaders’ Session is ‘Global South: Together for One Future’.
Apart from these two sessions, eight other ministerial-level sessions will take place on subjects such as foreign policy (‘India & the Global South: Emerging Together for a Better Future’), finance (‘Financing People-Centric Development’), health (‘Solutions from the Global South for One Health’) and more.
Some of the other sessions include a meeting of education ministers on ‘Making Human Resources Future Ready’, while environment ministers will discuss ‘Sustainable Solutions for Climate Resilience and Climate Finance’.
The session of energy ministers is called ‘Affordable & Inclusive Energy Transition for Sustainable Development’; and that of commerce or trade ministers is headlined ‘Global South & Resilient Supply Chains’.
India is also set to host the Artificial Global Partnership Summit next month, on 12-14 December, focussing on several critical aspects of AI, including responsible AI, data governance, future of work and innovation, and commercialisation.
Discussing the upcoming summit, the Prime Minister observed, “India believes that new technology should not widen the gap between the Global North and the Global South. During the times of Artificial Intelligence, it is important that technology should be used responsibly.”
India hosted the first virtual VOGSS earlier this year, on 12-13 January, where 125 countries participated in 10 sessions centered around education, foreign policy, and more. The summit allowed emerging economies to come together to highlight their issues on a global platform.
Modi emphasised on numerous significant outcomes of the New Delhi G20 Summit which benefited the ‘Global South’, including the landmark decision to induct the African Union into the intergovernmental forum.
Some other initiatives taken included the ‘G20 Action Plan’ to push the progress of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and reforming Multilateral Development Banks such as the World Bank, to become more inclusive and representative of emerging economies.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Analysis-Russia’s Putin sees political, economic upside to Israel’s war with Hamas