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India’s aim to surpass China as Global South leader unaffected by its support for Israel
- Global South countries will focus more on what India or China has to offer and not be fixated on the Israel-Gaza war, analysts say
- India’s ties with Israel will remain strong given their close defence ties and its tilt towards the US
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong support for Israel and his country’s abstention from a United Nations resolution for a Gaza ceasefire will “clearly not score diplomatic points” for New Delhi as it aims to outmanoeuvre Beijing to become the leader of the Global South, analysts have said.
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However, India’s Global South leadership will not be determined by its position on one issue, as analysts argued that “pragmatic” developing countries care more about what India has to offer in terms of boosting their interests.
Daniel Markey, senior South Asia adviser at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), said India would clearly “not score diplomatic points with the Global South by pursuing closer ties with Israel at the expense of the Palestinians”.
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“However, India’s Global South leadership has never been the result of its stance on that one issue,” he said. “New Delhi – correctly, in my view – appreciates that the Global South is an extremely diverse set of nations and that there will be other issues on which to demonstrate India’s leadership.”
When India assumed the year-long G20 presidency beginning last December, Modi set out visions including being a champion of the Global South, a term used to refer to developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
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