New York: Lauding India's support for emerging economies in the Southern hemisphere and terming it as one of the most important voice and champions of the global south, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman has said that the foundation sees India's ability to be a “global leader.”

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Suzman said that models developed in India can accelerate progress globally, especially in the Global South.

“India is clearly one of the most important voices and champions of the Global South. And that's why it's a country that we (Gates Foundation) in addition to the strong partnerships we've developed over the 20 years, we worked in India, to help drive better health and development outcomes in India. We now see India's ability to be a global leader in helping rollout and share some of its lessons and best practices in health in digital financial inclusion in agriculture. And that's something we're excited to be working on and building on in the years to come,“ Suzman told ANI.

Moreover, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New York hosted several leaders of the Global South at a special event 'India-UN for Global South', highlighting how India is trying to strike a balance in the international system.

Earlier this month the African Union was granted permanent member status in the Group of 20 (G20) top world economies.

Global South is used to refer to developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, while economically developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia, Australia and New Zealand constitute Global North. The African continent is home to about 17 per cent of the world's population. However, until September this year South Africa had been the only G20 member.

Suzman hailed the G20 grouping for reaching the "groundbreaking" consensus on the role of digital public infrastructure as a critical accelerator of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in the global south.

“There is a strong opportunity right now, to use that Global South framework in specific areas. We're particularly focused in areas like health and financial inclusion that focus on the poorest and most vulnerable and we're certainly looking forward to working with the Government of India to help roll those out in the years to come,” CEO further added.

Suzman's comments came at the annual “Goalkeepers” conference in New York that was largely focused on improving maternal and newborn health in low-income countries. The foundation's top offcial also recognized India’s job of prioritizing maternal and child health by Public and private partnerships that have accelerated progress.

“We work very closely with the states particularly of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which traditionally have had some of the most challenging statistics in terms of maternal and child mortality outcomes, but have recently seen significant progress.”

The foundation also celebrated “goalkeepers”—individuals who are working across the world to address sustainable development goals.

The event was filled with stories of individuals and organizations and their on-the-ground successes, from Yetunde Ayo Oyalowo, a doctor in Lagos, Nigeria who founded a program that sets up mobile clinics in markets and hard-to-reach communities to, Eva Nangalo, a midwife in Uganda.