NEW DELHI: In her opening remarks at the third “Voice of Global South” summit, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India remained committed to ensuring that the Global South undertook a larger role in shaping global development governance. India hosted the summit virtually.
Highlighting the challenges faced by the Global South, Nirmala said: “A pressing challenge that hinders developing economies in achieving development goals is inadequate access to development finance. Recent report reveals that the implementation of many sustainable development goals (SDGs) in developing economies is stagnating, with some indicators even regressing. The SDG financing gap is estimated at $4 trillion annually for developing countries.”
The Finance Minister said growth remained the best antidote to economic and social challenges. “Our priority should be people-centric growth that empowers the most vulnerable and marginalised to participate in the development journey.”
Earlier in the day, the Finance Minister met IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath. During the meeting, Gopinath congratulated Nirmala on policy continuity in the fiscal consolidation path being followed by the government.