India to host virtual summit of some 120 developing countries in January

India will host a virtual summit of around 120 developing countries next week, its foreign minister said on Friday, as the country looks to bolster international cooperation during its presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) biggest economies.

"India has always been in the forefront and consistently championed the cause of the developing world," Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and the conflict in Ukraine had impacted many developing countries.

This "Voice of Global South Summit" under the theme "Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose" envisages bringing together countries of the Global South to share their perspectives and priorities on a common platform, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Friday.

India will work to ensure that the valuable inputs generated from partner countries in the Voice of Global South Summit deliberations receive due cognizance globally.

Further, India's ongoing Presidency of the G20 provides a special and strong opportunity for those countries that are not part of the G20 process to share their ideas and expectations from the G20, according  to the MEA.

The Summit envisages ten sessions.

Four sessions would be held on 12 January, and six sessions on 13 January.

Each session is expected to witness the participation of Leaders/Ministers from 10-20 countries.

The inaugural and concluding sessions would be at Head of State / Government level, and hosted by the Prime Minister.

The theme of the Inaugural Leaders' session is "Voice of Global South - for Human-Centric Development" and that of the Concluding Leaders' session is "Unity of Voice-Unity of Purpose".

In addition, there would be 8 Ministerial sessions, with the following themes:

• Finance Ministers' Session on "Financing People-Centric Development"

• Environment Ministers' Session on "Balancing Growth with Environment Friendly Lifestyles (LiFE)"

• Foreign Ministers' Session on "Priorities of the Global South - Ensuring a Conducive Environment"

• Energy Ministers' Session on "Energy Security and Development- Roadmap to Prosperity"

• Health Ministers' Session on "Cooperation to Build Resilient Healthcare Systems"

• Education Ministers' Session on "Human Resource Development and Capacity Building"

• Commerce and Trade Ministers' Session on "Developing Synergies in the Global South - Trade, Technology, Tourism and Resources"

• Foreign Ministers' Session on "G-20: Suggestions for India's Presidency".