Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus to attend India-hosted Global South Summit 

The Chief of Bangladesh's interim government, Muhammad Yunus, will be attending the third Voice of the Global South Summit to be hosted by India on Saturday (Aug 17). The summit will take place virtually and the opening and closing session will be chaired by Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi. The presence of Bangladesh's chief advisor is significant as New Delhi andDhaka continue the engagement, including a recent meeting of Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma with the Foreign Advisor of interim governmentTouhid Hossain.

Earlier on Thursday, PM Modi andBangladesh's Yunus held talks, the first since the latter took charge. During the call, Modi reaffirmed "India's support for a democratic, stable, peaceful and progressive Bangladesh,"said an Indian readout. The Indian prime minister also emphasised New Delhi's "commitment to supporting the people of Bangladesh through various development initiatives."

During the conversation, New Delhi's concern about the situation of Hindu minorities also came up. PM Modi underlined the "importance of ensuring the safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities in Bangladesh". After former PM SheikhHasina's exit, the country saw increased attacks on minorities, including Hindus. The Yunus governmenthad come out strongly and assured the safety of Hindus. The chief advisor himself visited the famous Dhakeshwari National Temple in Dhaka to show support to the Hindu community of his government.

Earlier this month, onAugust 5, PM Hasina left the country amidwidespread protests. Last year, the then-Bangladesh PMhad attended both summits.

Leaders from Fiji in the Pacific to Guyana in the Caribbean will be present at the summit. The summit will also have ministerial sessions at foreign, health, youth, trade, information and technology, finance, energy, education, and environment levels.

In the last twosummitsthat took place last year, over 100 countries participated. During this year's summit, at the leadership level, leaders from Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, South America, Central America, Africa, andthe Pacific will be present.

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Leaders of Vietnam, Lao, and Timor Leste from South East Asia; Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius from India's neighbourhood; and from the rest of the Asian continent – Tajikistan, and Oman are expected to be present. From the Americas, Chile, Guyana, and El Salvador will be present. From Africa, Ethiopia and the Pacific Fiji, Marshall Islands, will also attend the summit.

The aim of the summit, which is an Indian initiative, is to bring the global south on a single platform where they can raise concerns and issues. In the last several years, the COVID-19, Russia and Ukraine war has impacted the global south, with high prices and disruption of supply chains. At this time, the United Nations has been found missing and unable to grasp the concerns of the global south.