At G7 Outreach, PM Modi Demands Global South Fund and Assails Economic ‘Cost of War’
In a powerful defense of developing economies at the G7 Summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that the world’s most vulnerable nations must not be left to bear the devastating collateral damage of geopolitical conflicts. Addressing the high-level Outreach Session on “Reviving a Balanced, Shared and Sustainable Economic Growth for All,” PM Modi called out the prolonged structural shocks inflicted on the Global South by the ongoing military escalation in West Asia involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran.
Seated directly alongside U.S. President Donald Trump during the multi-nation forum, the Prime Minister advocated for human-centric metrics over cold statistics, asserting that true global growth cannot be measured strictly by trade volumes or Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Key Pillars of India’s Global South Advocacy
The Prime Minister’s address focused heavily on shielding developing economies from foreign supply bottlenecks and establishing a more inclusive international financial architecture:
- Insulating Vulnerable Nations from Supply Shocks: PM Modi warned that the severe disruptions in fuel, food, and fertilizer supply chains caused by the conflict in West Asia will continue to choke developing nations for a considerable period. He noted:
“If we genuinely seek to strengthen international solidarity, the most vulnerable countries should not be left to bear the burden of these crises alone.”
- A Call for Emergency Support Funds: The Prime Minister urged multilateral lenders and international financial institutions to quickly evolve and build dedicated support mechanisms. These frameworks must actively help developing economies absorb external macro-shocks, protect their currency reserves, and maintain structural economic resilience.
- Maritime Safety and Protecting Seafarers: Touching upon a deeply sensitive point regarding security over critical sea lanes, the Prime Minister noted that a lack of respect for international law remains a massive barrier to solidarity. He emphasized that maritime lanes must be kept secure, adding that it is a collective sovereign responsibility to protect seafarers who sustain global trade networks without fear of targeted aggression.
Introducing IMPACT and the Global Skills Partnership
To transition from passive relief to active wealth creation, PM Modi unveiled two ambitious multilateral blueprints aimed at connecting economic clusters across continents:
- The IMPACT Initiative: Drawing parallels to the delayed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) finalized at the 2023 New Delhi G20 Summit, the Prime Minister proposed the International Mobilisation Partnership for Accelerating Connectivity and Trade (IMPACT). He challenged world leaders to build massive new infrastructure lines by combining G7 capital, Indian technical talent, and Global South sovereign ownership across Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific Islands.
- A Global Skills Partnership: Addressing distinct demographic imbalances, Modi highlighted that while many wealthy G7 societies face rapidly aging populations, India and emerging nations possess a massive pool of young, industrious workforce talent. He proposed a standardized framework to map international skill requirements and facilitate legal, trusted, and skilled institutional mobility.
Redefining the Parameters of Growth
The Prime Minister capped his address by urging a philosophical shift in how international bodies assess development, emphasizing that India’s domestic growth trajectory relies heavily on democratic empowerment and grass-roots execution (Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas).
Following the open session, PM Modi also held brief bilateral discussions with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the summit, aiming to secure localized logistics agreements and shield regional economic corridors from the ongoing cross-border disruptions.
