Affirming that India has walked the talk when it comes to raising issues of the Global South, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said the world today was simultaneously witnessing experimentation, scaling up, deployment, innovation, and breakthroughs in the country.
Recalling how India emerged as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’ during the Covid-19 pandemic, through the export of ‘Made in India’ vaccines to over 100 countries, the minister said New Delhi was also the first to respond during times of distress and upheaval in Myanmar and Turkey.
Addressing the B20 summit in the national capital, Dr Jaishankar said, “Today’s India is the one, where the world simultaneously witnesses experimentation, scaling up, deployment, innovation, and breakthroughs. I stress these developments not only because they solve one-sixth of the world’s problems by themselves, but because they provide replicable models for the rest of the Global South.”
Detailing how India worked to advance the cause of the Global South, he said, “So how has India walked the talk when it comes to Global South? Stress situations normally provide a good indicator of intent and behaviour. During the Covid pandemic, vaccines made in India have been sent to about 100 countries. And about 150 countries imported drugs during this period from World Pharmacy.
The minister added that India’s “development partnership” has grown significantly over the past decade and now spans 78 countries across all geographies. He added that 600 projects have been implemented or are being implemented as a testament to New Delhi’s goodwill and capacity.
The three-day summit in the nation’s capital kicked off on August 25. The theme of this year’s event is “R.A.I.S.E – Responsible, Accelerated Business, Innovation, Sustainability and fair”. This year’s event was attended by more than 1,500 delegates from 55 countries.
