Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday warned that disruptions in food, fuel and fertiliser supply chains caused by the ongoing crisis in West Asia are likely to weigh on developing economies for an extended period, calling for greater international support to help vulnerable nations withstand the shock.
Addressing the Outreach Session on "Reviving a Balanced, Shared and Sustainable Economic Growth for All" at the G7 Summit in Evian, Modi said the burden of global crises should not fall disproportionately on countries in the Global South.
"The disruptions in fuel, fertiliser and food supply chains caused by the crisis in West Asia will continue to impact the Global South for a considerable period," Modi said, according to a post on X.
"If we genuinely seek to strengthen international solidarity, the most vulnerable countries should not be left to bear the burden of these crises alone," he added.
The prime minister called on international financial institutions to create support mechanisms that would enable developing economies to absorb external shocks and preserve economic resilience.
Modi said discussions around economic growth should move beyond conventional metrics such as GDP and trade volumes.
"The reality today is, when it comes to growth, the question should not be about GDP or trade numbers. The real question is, growth for whom, with whom and in what direction?" he said.
Highlighting India's development model, Modi said the country's growth story has been driven by inclusion, scale and democratic empowerment.
"India's growth story is one of inclusion, scale and democratic empowerment," he said, adding that it is guided by the principle of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas".
The prime minister also cited initiatives such as India's G20 Presidency and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) as examples of collaborative development efforts.
Drawing on the IMEC framework, Modi proposed expanding connectivity initiatives across Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Islands. He suggested exploring the creation of an "International Mobilisation Partnership for Accelerating Connectivity and Trade" (IMPACT).
"By combining G7 capital, India's talent and the ownership of Global South countries, we may also consider establishing an International Mobilisation Partnership for Accelerating Connectivity and Trade (IMPACT)," he said.
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Modi further highlighted the demographic contrast between ageing economies and younger developing nations, calling for deeper cooperation on skills and labour mobility.
"Today, many societies are becoming ageing societies while India and other countries of the Global South have abundance of young talent, entrepreneurship and skills," he said.
To leverage this complementarity, Modi proposed the creation of a Global Skills Partnership focused on skill mapping and promoting trusted skilled mobility across countries.
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