17/08/2024
Inaugural Leaders’ Session
3rd Voice of Global South Summit 2024
Hosted by India
“An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future”
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲
𝐇.𝐄. 𝐃𝐫. 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝 𝐘𝐮𝐧𝐮𝐬
𝐇𝐨𝐧’𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫
𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐡
Virtual Mode
17 August 2024
Hon’ble Prime Minister of India His Excellency Shri Narendra Modi
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good morning to you all.
I am delighted to join this “3rd edition of the Voice of Global South Summit”.
I take the opportunity to extend my heartfelt felicitations to the people of India for the country's 78th Independence Day, which was celebrated on 15 August. The future of the world, especially of the Global South, stands at a critical juncture, due to geopolitical crisis, climate change and impact of a prolonged Covid-19.
Excellencies,
You all are aware that Bangladesh witnessed a ‘Second Revolution’ on 5th August 2024, through a mass uprising spearheaded by our valiant students and joined by the masses. The current interim government was sworn in on August 8.
Our young generation have impressed upon the people their aspirations for a revolutionary change, restoration of all institutions of the state to ensure democracy and human rights through a meaningful reform, Our government is committed to ensuring a transition to inclusive and pluralistic democracy and create an environment in which free, fair and participatory elections can be held.
Ladies and Gentlemen
The theme of this Summit as well as for this inaugural leaders’ session ‘An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future’ is a very timely and appropriate one. The global south must work together to ensure Sustainable Future for our Mother Earth.
We can start with a vision of building a world of three zeroes, zero net carbon emissions, zero wealth concentration, and zero unemployment. If we give an important place for social businesses, that is businesses which are created solely for fixing social and environmental problems, we can set our path to create a world of three zeros. We invite the leaders of the global south to work together for creating social businesses to address all environmental and social problems. It can become a massive force if we work together.
We must place the youth and students, who constitute a significant portion of the Global South’s population at the heart of our strategies. Two thirds of our population are youth. They are the most powerful segment of the society. They are different. They are committed to creating a new world. They are capable. They are technologically far ahead of the previous generation. They can make all impossible possible. They are entrepreneurial. Jobs they want, not because they enjoy it but because there is nothing else available, just because they are prepared by an education system in all our countries to get ready for jobs. Their creative capacities are forgotten. Yet, all human beings are born as creative beings. They are natural entrepreneurs. But our education system and financial system are built only for creating job seekers and providing jobs for them. We have to redesign our system. We hope we can do it together in the global south, which is rich with fantastically creative young population. Combining entrepreneurship with social business can create miracles. We would like to propose some common facilities in the global south to take concrete steps to unleash the creativity and energy of our young population through social business.
My life-long experience has been that our financial system is created to promote wealth concentration. We have to redesign our financial system to make sure wealth is shared by all. It should not be a one-way path for wealth. We must ensure financial services for all people, particularly women and youth. We can learn from each other how this can be done successfully. Many countries have taken a lead in this matter. We need to do more. Finance should never be a wall for anybody. It should be designed to unleash entrepreneurship and creativity. Social business banks can be encouraged to be created for solving problems such as poverty and unemployment.
Being old should not mean that you have to retire, withdraw yourself from economic activities. Human creativity never stops on a date fixed by the state. It doesn’t stop until the last breath. We may work together to see how to make societies supportive of creativity of all people as long they live.
I have been encouraging the power of sports to be utilise for social purposes. I am glad Paris Olympics 2024 paid attention to it. Together with Paris Olympic 2024 we created a new concept of Olympics— social business Olympics. Paris Olympics was designed as a social business Olympics. As the global south, we can work together to unleash the social power of sports.
Our task is now to carry out vital reforms in our electoral system, judiciary, local government, media, economy and education.
I invite you to visit Dhaka soon. Otherwise you may miss something important. Much of Dhaka has turned into the graffitti capital of the world. Young students and children aged as young as 12-13 have been painting the walls of this 400 year old city with images of a New Democratic environment- friendly Bangladesh. There is no central planning or guidance for that. No budget support from anybody. It is just an outpouring of their emotions and commitment to the goals of the Second Revolution. They approach the shopkeepers to buy paints and brushes for them. They make up their own subject and own messages. Messages they are painting will thrill anybody. Anybody can read in them what the youth are dreaming of. It is our job to make their dreams come true.
In 1952 the Bangladeshi students sacrificed their lives for their mother tongue. It inspired struggles for the right to speak in mother language all over the world. Some seven decades later our students-led Second Revolution is inspiring youth throughout the global south to raise their voice for democracy, human rights, dignity, equality and shared prosperity. I am honoured to be the oldest "young person" to take part in this revolution and help them make their dreams come true. They need support from all of you. Wish them all the success.
Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts with you. Thank you very much
