Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid has participated in the Voice of the South Summit convened by the Government of India.

Minister Shahid took part in the event virtually, on Thursday.

Speaking at the session entitled “Priorities of the Global South – Ensuring a Conducive Environment”, Foreign Minister Shahid congratulated India on assuming Presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) and welcomed this initiative by India to give a platform for the Global South to share concerns and discuss solutions to shared challenges.

The Minister stated that rising levels of public debt, the climate crisis and commodity price fluctuation as some of the key challenges facing countries in the Global South and expressed confidence in India’s Presidency of the G20 to find transformative solutions to these issues.

He went on to express gratitude to the Indian government for the development assistance provided to the Maldives throughout the years, noting India’s important role in the recovery efforts and national development of the Maldives.

Furthermore, Minister Shahid noted the benefits of the opportunity the Summit brings for developing countries, especially non-G20 members, to fight inequality through strengthened and revived South-South partnerships.

The Foreign Ministers session was chaired by Minister of External Affairs of India Dr. S. Jaishankar.

Ministers from Armenia, Oman, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Georgia, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Panama, Tunisia, and Uganda also participated in the session.

India will be the President of G20 from 1 December 2022 until 30 November 2023.