Muraleedharan bats for Global South; urges G20 to maintain focus on development-related issues

RIO DE JANEIRO: Recalling the consensus achieved in the G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration (NDLD), Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan has urged the grouping to maintain its focus on development-related issues.

Participating in the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro from February 21-22, he also called upon the grouping to accelerate progress on all the agreed NDLD decisions and outcomes.

He also emphasised the importance of an "inclusive and action-oriented response to contemporary global challenges, which have a disproportionate impact on the Global South," the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.

At a session on 'Global Governance Reform' on Thursday, the minister noted that the global order has undergone dramatic shifts since the creation of the present multilateral governance architecture in the 20th century.

He highlighted the critical need for a paradigm shift in the structures and working methods of key global institutions to make them more responsive to contemporary challenges.

Recalling that the G20 leaders had, in the NDLD, agreed to deliver better, bigger, more effective, and more representative Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), he called for enhanced financial flows to enable accelerated progress SDGs and climate action.

He stressed the importance of an open, transparent, and outcome-oriented process of UN reforms, including the UN Security Council, in a defined timeframe and reiterated India's support to policies that enable trade and investment to serve as an engine of growth and prosperity for all.

This came as back home, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar pitched for UNSC reforms at the 9th Raisina Dialogue and spoke of the UN's failure to address global challenges.

"If you look at the last five years, all the big issues, in a way, we have not been able to find a multilateral solution," he said at India's flagship conference on geopolitics on Thursday.

At another session on 'G20's role in dealing with ongoing international tensions' on Wednesday, the minister expressed India's steadfast support to Brazil's G20 Presidency, while noting that four developing countries -- Indonesia, India, Brazil, and South Africa (IBSA) -- are holding the grouping's presidency in a row.

According to his X handle, he also shared his views "on the current significance of IBSA, potential areas for future collaboration, and the exemplary role of the IBSA Fund", while participating in the IBSA Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Thursday.

Foreign ministers and heads of delegation of G20 members, and international organisations participated in the Foreign Ministers' Meeting that was chaired by Mauro Vieira, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil.

Muraleedharan also met the Indian community in Rio and had a bilateral meeting with the Foreign Minister of Uruguay, Omar Paganini.