Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the online international conference 'Southern Voice'

On the morning of August 17, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended online the High-level Opening Session of the 3rd Southern Voices Summit chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the conference. Photo: Doan Tan/VNA

The opening session was attended by nearly 20 Presidents, Prime Ministers and senior leaders of developing countries discussing the topic "Empowering Southern countries for a sustainable future".

Speaking at the Opening Session of the Summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed the importance and contribution of the Southern Voices Conference to the G20 agenda, with the African Union becoming a permanent member of the G20 as a concrete example. In the context of the world situation continuing to be uncertain and complex, facing many challenges such as food security, energy, high-tech separation, etc., the Indian Prime Minister emphasized that strengthening solidarity among Southern economies is important to promote global growth. Countries need to identify a common direction and share resources to turn goals into reality.

India affirmed its commitment to sharing experiences and capabilities with Southern countries for a sustainable future through promoting trade, developing renewable energy, digital infrastructure, inclusive finance, etc.; proposing the initiative of the Comprehensive Development Cooperation Agreement with people at the center to support Southern countries in sustainable and balanced development, promoting trade, enhancing capacity, sharing technology, etc.

Immediately after the opening speech of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh delivered an important speech, assessing that the world is experiencing unprecedented complex changes and profound transformations in both nature and humanity. The explosive development of science and technology and the 4.0 Industrial Revolution have fundamentally changed the methods of production, business, consumption, the way the world operates, develops as well as human behavior on a global scale. Security challenges, especially non-traditional security such as climate change, population aging, resource depletion, cyber security, etc., are increasingly complex, regularly and directly affecting the security and development of every country.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Southern countries need to have a common vision and a global, comprehensive and all-people mindset, action and approach. More than ever, Southern countries need to strengthen cooperation in the spirit of solidarity and unity in diversity to seize opportunities, overcome challenges, resolve difficulties and move towards a sustainable prosperous future for all countries. In that spirit, the Prime Minister suggested that Southern countries focus on 3 “promotions”:

First, promote more effective and substantive reform of regional and global governance institutions, focusing on reforming the United Nations to be more democratic and effective, strengthening the multilateral trading system with the WTO at the center, and minimizing trade barriers and unfair competition.

Second, promote the mobilization and effective use of all social resources to successfully implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Countries need to promote their pioneering role in ensuring food security, environmental protection, natural disaster prevention, climate change adaptation, green economy, digital economy, and circular economy development on the basis of ensuring the principles of equal access, fairness, autonomy, and self-reliance. The Prime Minister called for more practical and effective support from the international community, especially developed countries, in finance, technology, human resource training, and governance for developing countries.

Third, promote new growth drivers, especially in science and technology, innovation and startups, considering this as the focus of all cooperation mechanisms and initiatives. It is necessary to continue to strongly promote South-South trade and investment; promote the development of South-South science and technology markets; develop an innovation ecosystem connecting the state - schools - businesses and connecting regions to operate effectively and substantially.

Discussing at the Conference, the Leaders appreciated India's initiative to maintain the organization of the 3rd Southern Voices Summit, creating a framework for developing countries to share their voices, perspectives and solutions to overcome global challenges. The Leaders affirmed their commitment to the global multilateral system and international law, emphasizing the need to strengthen international solidarity and cooperation, promoting reform of multilateral mechanisms towards enhancing the voice of developing countries and ensuring the principle of people-centeredness. The countries emphasized the need to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through increasing financial resources, sharing development experiences, digital transformation, developing the private economy and promoting technological cooperation.

The Southern Voices Summit is an initiative of India as the Chair of the G20 Group in 2023. The Summit is an important forum for developing countries to gather voices, share views and promote cooperation. This is the third consecutive time that India has invited Vietnam to attend the Summit, demonstrating Vietnam's growing role, position and international prestige in participating and contributing responsibly to global multilateral mechanisms.

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