You Are Leader of the Global South: Papua New Guinea Leader Hails PM Modi

Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape on Monday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the leader of the Global South, during his address to the third summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC).

"We are victims of the global powerplay. You (PM Modi) are the leader of Global South. We will rally behind your leadership at global forums," Marape was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the Pacific nation which is a part of the second leg of his three-nation visit.

PM Modi also assured that New Delhi will do everything in its power to highlight the issues faced by Pacific Island nations in global forums.

"India considers it its responsibility to convey the concerns of the Global South, their expectations and their aspirations to the world through the G20. This was my effort in the last two days at the G7 summit as well," PM Modi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

the prime minister also pointed out that those who were 'trusted' did not help during times of crisis.

"Today we are seeing disruption in the supply chain of fuel, food, fertiliser and pharma. Those whom we trusted, didn't stand with us when needed," PM Modi said.

"The impact of the Covid pandemic was most on the countries of the Global South. 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," he said.

"India is proud to be your development partner. You can count on India as a reliable partner. We are ready to share our experiences and capabilities with you without hesitation. We believe in multilateralism and support a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific," PM Modi said.

He further added that he does not view Papua New Guinea and other islands in the Pacific as island nations but as 'ocean countries' and said that the ocean binds India and the Pacific Islands together, referring to the Indian Ocean.

"For me, you are large ocean countries and not small island states," he said.