INTERNATIONAL Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz is set to deliver a speech at the inaugural Voice of Global South summit, a special virtual meet hosted by India, today. 

The Indian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur said in a statement that Tengku Zafrul will speak at the commerce and trade ministers’ session on “Developing Synergies in the Global South – Trade, Technology, Tourism and Resources” at 6.30pm to 8.30pm local time. 

“The commerce and trade ministers’ session will have participation from 14 countries including a keynote address by Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, besides speeches by trade and commerce ministers from Benin, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Myanmar, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Haiti, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Timor Leste. 

“There will be four other ministerial sessions on energy, education, health, and G20, respectively, followed by a concluding session led by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi,” said the statement. 

The Voice of Global South summit was launched Thursday by Modi and the leaders of 10 countries, namely, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Guyana, Mongolia, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. 

Besides the inaugural session, three ministerial sessions were held yesterday, namely, a finance ministers’ session on “Financing People-Centric Development” and environment ministers’ session on “Balancing Growth with Environment Friendly Lifestyles (LiFE)” in which 15 countries participated, respectively. 

“There was also a foreign ministers’ session on ‘Priorities of the Global South – Ensuring a Conducive Environment’, participated by 14 countries,” it added. 

The statement said in line with Modi’s vision, India’s G20 presidency will be shaped in consultation with not just G20 partners, but also travellers in the global south, whose voices often go unheard. 

India said it will ensure the valuable input generated from partner countries in the Voice of Global South summit deliberations receive due cognisance globally. – Bernama, January 13, 2023.