Nepal's Perspective on Who Should Lead the Global South

Nepal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arzu Rana Deuba, stated that both countries China and India are capable of leading on different issues based on their expertise, emphasizing that relying on a single nation for every issue is not sustainable for the Global South.

Should India or China lead the Global South? Nepal has opted for a neutral stance in the leadership debate between New Delhi and Beijing.

Speaking at Firstpost’s IdeasPod during the annual Raisina Dialogue, organized by ORF in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Nepal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arzu Rana Deuba, stated “Well, for Nepal it’s a balancing act and our location is between China and India. It’s one of the most strategic locations in the world, but also a very geopolitically sensitive place. And the leadership of China and India are going at their own pace.”

She mentioned that both countries are capable of leading on different issues based on their expertise, and emphasized that relying on a single nation for all issues is not sustainable for the Global South.

“For countries like Nepal, it’s trying to balance and also to see where the alignment best fits so that Nepal as a nation can progress,” Deuba said.

When asked whether the goal of the Global South is to establish a new world order or reform the existing one, the minister responded, “I think it’s a bit of both. There might be some new issues that the emerging countries of the Global South may have a better handle on, and maybe in those areas, a new kind of dynamics will emerge. But there could be other issues like, you know, nuclear power, where maybe the Global South just wants a seat at the table like the Security Council.”