India’s G20 presidency will go down in history: Mauritius Minister of Agro-Industry

New York: Mauritius Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security Maneesh Gobin has said India’s G20 presidency under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership will go down in history as one which has lived up to its call for sustainable and human-centred development.
“India's presidency under the sterling leadership of Narendra Modi will, without doubt, go down in history as one which has lived up to its call for a sustainable and human-centred development at a time of mounting divergences within the international community,” the Mauritian Minister of Agro-Industry said while addressing the 'India-UN for Global South: Delivering for Development' event in New York City on Saturday.
He then congratulated the Indian government “for hosting a memorable and historic G20 Summit in New Delhi.”
On the New Delhi Declaration, he said “it is an illustration that countries from north and south can overcome differences for the common good.”
In a historic development, the New Delhi Declaration was adopted on September 9 during the G20 Leader’s Summit in New Delhi.
The biggest takeaway of the declaration was that all 83 paras of the declaration were passed unanimously with a 100 per cent consensus along with China and Russia in agreement. For the first time, the declaration contained no footnote or Chair’s Summary.
Gobin further said that Mauritius was very honoured to be invited as a guest country throughout the G20, “I should say, whereby the Global South has been given a prominent voice.”
Speaking on the African Union’s inclusion as a permanent member of the G20, he said the development reinforces the G20’s legitimacy.
“Mauritius has used this unique opportunity of being invited as a guest country to be the voice of the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by developing countries, in particular small island developing states. It is befitting for me to underscore the invaluable contribution of India to advance multilateralism and shared prosperity in the Global South,” he said.
The Mauritian minister said that the promotion of meaningful South-South cooperation, including through the India UN-Development Partnership Fund, has supported the efforts of many developed countries towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “In the case of my own country, our long-standing relationship with India, qualified by Narendra Modi himself as super special, is founded on shared cultural heritage and historical ties,” he said.
“Cooperation between Mauritius and India extends over a wide range of sectors including in the fields of investment infrastructure, trade, culture, education, health and maritime security,” he added.