Achieving SDGs Require Stronger Multilateral Ties: FM Zameer

Relations between the Global South and other nations need to be further strengthened to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) at a faster pace, Minister of Foreign Affairs Moosa Zameer has said. Zameer was addressing the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the third iteration of the Voice of Global South Summit held virtually by the Indian government on Saturday.

In his speech, Zameer congratulated the government of India for its role in presiding over the Group of 20 (G20) last year and for the important initiatives introduced under the nation’s leadership.

Zameer thanked the G20 members as well as non-G20 countries, especially those belonging to the Global South, saying that a permanent solution to the current challenges facing the countries of the Global South can only be found by addressing the adverse impacts of climate change and increasing debt, while also updating multilateral frameworks in line with the times.

The Minister said it was time to find a solution that small island developing countries, the Global South, and the world needed to properly address the adverse effects of climate change.

He also stressed the importance of ensuring that the technological innovations needed to achieve the development vision of countries like the Maldives, reach the countries of the Global South on an equitable basis. Sustainable development goals can be achieved by further strengthening relations between the Global South and other countries, the Maldives’ top diplomat said.

The Voice of Global South Summit is an initiative by the Indian government to raise awareness of the issues facing non-G20 member countries, especially the Global South.

As in previous years, the summit was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the session of foreign ministers chaired by India’s Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The summit was attended by the foreign ministers of Brunei, Cambodia, Cuba, Iraq, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Malaysia, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Tuvalu.