India, Nov. 17 -- The Global South should work towards self-reliance by diversifying production, building reliable supply chains and promoting local solutions to overcome the "perils of dependence...on far away geographies", external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Friday in a thinly veiled swipe at China.

Addressing a session for foreign ministers at the virtual Voice of Global South Summit, Jaishankar said there continues to be resistance to a greater role for the Global South in finding solutions for contemporary challenges despite wide-ranging changes to the world order.

Though Jaishankar didn't name any countries in his remarks, he was apparently referring to China when he brought up issues such as ensuring the reliability of...