South-South cooperation Evolving realities, drivers and partners

1. South-South cooperation Evolving realities, drivers and partners May 2004

2. 1. The past

3. South-South cooperation In ‘70s and ‘80s, S-S an expression of political solidarity and aspiration of developing countries Based on sponsorship of capacity and needs matching exercises, e.g.: TCDC fairs bringing countries together Data collection/dissemination (INRES; now the interactive Web of Information on Development – WIDE) Provision of data on experts, institutional capacities and best practices

4. South-South cooperation (cont’d.) • Helping establish suitable policy frameworks within government for integrating TCDC in national planning processes • Helping establish TCDC focal points in governments; developing institutional arrangements • Moving TCDC exchanges beyond gov’t-to-gov’t networks to include private sector, civil society • New Directions strategy in 1996 involving establishment of pivotal countries, triangular cooperation, &c.

5. Some limitations of past approaches • Cooperation hindered by: • Insufficient differentiation between countries in terms of technologies and expertize limiting mutually beneficial exchanges • Most countries similarly situated in terms of resource endowments and export markets • Lack of communication and transportation linkages • Tension between political aspirations and desire to obtain ‘state of the art’ technology from the North • Resulted in sporadic, unconnected exchanges with uncertain results

6. Seizing on an evolving context S-S conceived under conditions of ‘70s and ‘80s S-S cooperation can be repurposed for a changing world

7. 2. The present

8. No longer monolithic North and monolithic South ‘Developed’ Countries / Sectors ‘Emerging’ Countries / Sectors ‘Least developed’ Countries / Sectors

9. Flow in trade, finance, investment and ideas • Flow of global trade, finance, investment and ideas mostly within ‘developed’ countries / sectors ‘Developed’ Countries / Sectors • Limited no. of ‘emerging’ countries / sectors benefiting • Many ‘least developed’ countries / sectors not currently benefiting; experiencing ‘reverse development’ ‘Least developed’ Countries / Sectors ‘Emerging’ Countries / Sectors

10. Emerging responses • Important new bodies and alliances, e.g.: • Rise of people-to-people networks, civil society, NGOs • Sub-regional groups on WTO issues • Post Cancun: IBSA • Regional solidarity e.g. African Union, East African Community, SAARC, CARICOM • OHRLLS

11. New Drivers of South-South cooperation for MDGs • Advances in education, science and technology in parts of South, allowing beneficial technological transfers • Build up of capacity, experience and knowledge in solving social and economic issues in LDCs, SIDs and land-locked states • Growing experience in meeting challenges of governance (e.g. performance of public administration, delivery of services) • Strong growth in some economies, demonstrating potential to respond successfully to new global challenges • ‘Leapfrogging’ possible owing to ICT

12. “Developed” Countries / Sectors Established capacities and experience; some needs Summary of capacities, experiences and needs “Emerging” Countries / Sectors Improving capacities and experience; some needs “Least developed” Countries / Sectors Limited capacities, some experience; significant needs

13. So what is the objective of South-South cooperation in this changing context?

14. ‘Developed’ Countries / Sectors To utilize capacities and experience available in emerging countries / sectors ‘Emerging’ Countries / Sectors ‘Least developed’ Countries / Sectors

15. ‘Developed’ Countries / Sectors To enable ‘win-win’ situations for more inclusive globalization, in pursuit of the MDGs ‘Emerging’ Countries / Sectors ‘Least developed’ Countries / Sectors

16. 3. Moving forward

17. From ‘Pivotal Countries’ to ‘Prime Movers’from recent meetings in Hangzhou, China and Marrakech, Morocco • Notion of ‘Prime Mover’ countries developed • Focus on most pressing development needs, esp. those of least dev’d countries / sectors • Channel available and relevant experience in Prime Movers for least dev’d countries / sectors

18. From ‘Pivotal Countries’ to ‘Prime Movers’, cont’d. • Partner and pool resources for strategic results, fulfilling mutual interests • Particular interest shown by prime movers in Africa (incl. Brazil, China, India, Malaysia and Thailand) • Readiness to formulate scaled-up programme facilitated by Special Unit

19. General criteria for ‘programming’ by the Special Unit for SSC • Linked to Millennium Declaration and MDGs • Benefits 2+ countries; emphasis on LDCs • Demand driven; using extant and relevant capacity / experience • Builds domestic capacity • Based on ‘record of results’, lessons learnt • Potential for mobilizing local, national, regional and international resources • Builds on existing mechanisms, where feasible • Facilitation by Special Unit considered essential

20. S-S cooperation: potential initiatives for ‘04 & beyond

21. S-S cooperation: potential initiatives, cont’d.