Many Countries Raise Concerns Over Gaza Genocide During Global South Summit

NEW DELHI, Aug 18 (Bernama) -- Many countries raised their concerns over Israel's genocidal war in Gaza during the third “Voice of Global South Summit,” hosted by India in a virtual format on Saturday.

“Quite a few people raised their concerns over Gaza. Some did mention Ukraine in both the leaders' and foreign ministers' discussions, but references to Gaza were definitely much more frequent than to Ukraine. The thrust of it was concern for civilian casualties," Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at a media briefing after the meeting.

The sentiment was that the situation needs to return to a ceasefire and to negotiations, he added.

The summit addressed a range of issues, including global governance reforms, debt burden on developing countries, climate change, food security and digital technologies.

It saw participation from 123 countries at various levels, including 21 heads of state and government, and 34 foreign ministers.

However, India did not invite China and Pakistan to participate in the event, Jaishankar confirmed to the media.

-- BERNAMA