India, UN launch initiative for sharing nation's development experiences with Global South

India and the United Nations have launched a joint "India-UN Capacity Building Initiative" that aims to share India's development experiences, best practices and expertise with partner countries in the Global South through capacity building and training programs, said a release from the United Nations. According to the official release, the initiative was announced at an event titled "India-UN for the Global South--Delivering for Development" in New York on 23 September 2023 in the presence of the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

The event also saw the participation of Dennis Francis, President of the 78th General Assembly, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, Prime Minister of Samoa, Tandi Dorji, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bhutan, Vince Henderson, Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Business, Trade and Energy, Dominica, Hugh Hilton Todd, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Guyana. Maneesh Gobin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mauritius, Alva Romanus Baptiste, Minister for External Affairs, International Trade, Civil Aviation and Diaspora Affairs, St. Lucia, Ahmed Khaleel, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Maldives, Achim Steiner, Administrator, UNDP, Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Commissioner for India were also present in the event.

The "India-UN Capacity Building Initiative" builds upon the extensive cooperation in development and capacity building that India already has bilaterally with its partner countries, the release said. The India-UN initiative also complements the India-UN partnership in the form of "India-UN Development Partnership Fund" which has developed a portfolio of 75 development projects in 61 countries in the last 6 years.

As part of this initiative, the UN India team and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will partner to leverage India's Technical and Economic Cooperation platform to share India's development experiences and best practices across the world. The release informed that a Joint Declaration of Intent was also exchanged on Sunday between the UN Resident Coordinator in India and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to this effect.

This Initiative will also operationalise the development-relevant deliverables of India's G20 Presidency, including the G20 Action Plan for Accelerating Progress on the SDGs, technological transformation and building Digital Public Infrastructure, among others. The united nations marked the initiative as a significant contribution to global efforts towards accelerating momentum for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by strengthening South-South Cooperation and reflects India's continuing efforts to strengthen its development partnership with the Global South.

The release added that the initiative carries forward the successful G20 Presidency of India which saw inclusion of the voice of Global South into the G20 agenda and entry of the African Union into the grouping.