India and the Global South: From Voice to Influence

India-Global South relations are moving to a new phase. Throughout the post-colonial era, India's impact was primarily political- and normative-oriented. It was a strong voice for decolonisation, strategic autonomy, an equitable international economic order and increased representation of developing nations in international institutions. The voice was important because it was that of an emerging nation in a world economy dominated by the West.

However, this is not the case in India now. It has grown much more influential, technologically advanced, diplomatic and strategic. What India can do is not merely lend a voice to the Global South, but also put it on the policy agenda, market, technologies and institutions that will shape the future of the “developing world”.

The two concepts – voice and influence – are key. Voice can provide political visibility and normative legitimacy, and power to influence outcomes. It is not only military or diplomatic power that can be used to achieve that, it is also trade and investment, development finance, technology, energy partnerships, infrastructure and control over key networks in a more geoeconomic world. It is an opportunity as well as a responsibility for India. However, India's growing economic strength will add to the credibility of this sustained interest in South-South
cooperation if it is applied in a manner that expands the choice and productive capacities of the countries in the south and not traditional dependency.

India's Global South diplomacy during its G20 presidency was an important sign of this newfound aspiration. The Voice of Global South Summit was convened by India, and gathered 125 developing countries, which was an attempt to establish a forum where the voice of nations not generally part of the global power block can shape the global agenda.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to the Global South for an “equivalent voice” was more than a diplomatic turn of phrase, it was India's bid to link its own international ascendance to the broader call for a voice more representative of the Global South. The permanent membership of the African Union was a tangible institutional manifestation of that ambition, during the G20 presidency. Diplomatic advocacy had been found to bring an institutional result in India. The next is to make such influence systematic, predictable in non-diplomatic times.

Africa is likely to play a key role in that transition. India-Africa economic engagement has grown significantly, bilaterally valued at $89 billion in 2025, and cumulative investment of India in Africa estimated at $75 billion. India has also agreed to disburse 196 Lines of Credit for over USD 12 billion for 42 African nations for projects in areas as diverse as power, transport, agriculture, water and digital connectivity. These are not just significant numbers, but more importantly the instruments of engagement that India has evolved over time.

Development cooperation is increasingly linked to trade, investment and technology, which can lead to mutually beneficial relationships.

Another field where the Indian model can gain a more prominent strategic edge is in development finance. The Lines of Credit in India have given a great support to finance development projects and are also helpful for Indian exports and businesses. The $40 million credit facility granted to the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development by the Exim Bank of India is a good example of such arrangements. The time now is to increase the developmental aspect of this financing, aligning more emphasis on transparency, local participation, technology transfer and measurable development outcomes. Development partnerships that are explicitly locally owned and financially sustainable can offer a unique alternative to the conception that infrastructure and finance inevitably lead into new forms of strategic dependency.

India's experience with the South-South cooperation is also an important asset here. In India, the development partnerships have always had a component of training, capacity building and knowledge transfer in addition to any other physical infrastructure. The India-UN Development Partnership Fund project in the northern Cameroon region is a good example. The Barefoot College was involved in the training of women from rural communities to install and maintain solar systems where the local communities were a part of managing the projects. As a result of the project, over 12,000 people have been reached, and more than 1,300 people have been trained, and 1,000 solar kits have been distributed by the project's completion.

The increasing capabilities of Indian technologies can expand the impact of its South-South cooperation efforts. Digital cooperation can provide opportunities for sharing institutional capacity to support financial inclusion, and public service delivery. Digital cooperation, if used with proper focus on data governance, sovereignty, and local ownership, can be one of the most crucial tools by which India can support the Global South development goals.

The other field where India's economic interests and Global South diplomacy are increasingly intertwined is energy. India's dependence on imported energy makes diversification a strategic necessity, while many African countries possess significant oil, gas and renewable-energy resources. This mutual interest is reflected in India's recent initiatives to strengthen energy partnerships with African producers. However, it is important that India shift from a buyer-supplier relation with African countries to wider energy partnerships that integrates
energy investment, renewable technologies, infrastructure, skills and climate finance. The Global South requires transition that does not perpetuate the history of unequal global economic power-sharing; and India can join the conversation by showing how technological cooperation could make the energy transition more accessible for developing countries.

The Global South trust in Indian development cooperation will increasingly rely on whether the partner countries have a sense of ownership over projects, whether funding is sustainable, whether local capacities are built, and whether Indian commercial interests are in line with development priorities.

This is why the Indian leadership of the Global South in the coming years is to be seen not as a contest for the biggest share of influence in the developing world, but as an attempt to develop a more capable and interconnected Global South. India added value would be to establish platforms, partnerships and institutions through which developing countries can follow their own development agenda under greater economic and technological autonomy.

The differences lie in the possibility of representation vs agency. India has clearly shown its commitment to speaking for the developing world in international forums. Its next challenge is to develop the institutional, economic and capacity-building mechanisms that enable developing countries to be more influential. This is the shift from voice to influence, and this is going to be India's next phase of engagement with the Global South.