PM Modi to address 'Voice of Global South' summit on Thursday

New Delhi, Jan 11 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the inaugural leaders' session at the two-day 'Voice of Global South' summit on Thursday.

The theme of the session is 'Voice of Global South - for Human-Centric Development'.

The virtual summit being hosted by India, in which more than 120 nations will participate, will be held on January 12 and 13.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra had told mediapersons last week that the theme of the summit would be 'Unity of Voice and Unity of Purpose'.

He had also informed that two lead sessions would be hosted by the Prime Minister.

The conference, Kwatra said, envisions bringing together nations of the global south and to provide them a platform for sharing their views.

The conference is inspired by India's philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (The world is one family), the Foreign Secretary had said.

India's ongoing presidency of the G20 provides a special and strong opportunity to those countries that are not part of the G20 process to share their ideas and expectations from the G20 through this conference, an official statement said.

The summit envisages 10 sessions, four on Thursday and six on Friday.

Each session is expected to witness the participation of leaders and ministers from 10 to 20 countries.

The inaugural and concluding sessions would be at head of state or government level to be hosted by the Prime Minister.

In addition, there would be eight ministerial sessions on the following themes: Finance Ministers' session on 'Financing People-Centric Development',
Environment Ministers' session on 'Balancing Growth with Environment Friendly Lifestyles', 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 Ministers' session on 'Developing Synergies in the Global South - Trade, Technology, Tourism and Resources', and Foreign Ministers' session on 'G-20: Suggestions for India's Presidency'.