‘Those We Trusted, Didn’t Stand With Us…’: PM Modi Says Global South Hit Hardest By Covid-19 Pandemic

In what seemed like a veiled dig at developed nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that despite Global South being the most vulnerable to the world, those he “trusted” did not stand with him in times of need.

Addressing the 3rd India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit in Papua New Guinea, PM Modi said that for him, Pacific island nations are large ocean countries and not small island states.

“Today we are seeing disruption in the supply chain of fuel, food, fertilizer and pharma. Those whom we trusted didn’t stand with us when needed…,” said the Indian Prime Minister.

He also highlighted that the countries in the Global South were hit the hardest during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Challenges related to climate change, natural disasters, hunger, poverty and health were already there. Now new problems are arising. I am happy that India stood by its friendly Pacific Island countries in times of difficulty,” PM Modi said.

The Indian prime minister arrived in Papua New Guinea on Sunday evening from Japan where he attended the summit of the G7 advanced economies and held bilateral meetings with several world leaders. He co-chaired the third FIPIC Summit with his PNG counterpart, which saw participation from leaders of 14 countries.

Speaking at the summit, Papua New Guinea PM James Marape called PM Modi the leader of Global South and vowed to rally behind India’s leadership at global forums.

“We are victims of global powerplay… You (PM Modi) are the leader of Global South. We will rally behind your (India) leadership at global forums,” Marape said.

Pacific Island nations include Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Republic of Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.