UNITED NATIONS – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, in his message on the occasion of the South-South Cooperation Day, stated that in the current international situation, “a time of unprecedented challenges and upheaval, the solutions lie in solidarity”. , which this Monday, 12.
“South-South and triangular cooperation is critical for developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate shocks, tackle the global health crisis, including the recovery from Covid-19, and achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). achieve,” said the head of the UN.
The developing South’s cooperative efforts “do not absolve rich countries, however, from their responsibility to work constructively with developing countries, particularly to reduce growing inequalities between and within nations,” Guterres said.
He encouraged “all nations and communities to redouble their cooperation and build bridges to achieve a just and sustainable future for all. We will need all the contributions and cooperation of the countries of the South to create more resilient economies and societies and to implement the SDGs,” he stressed.
For her part, Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), pointed out that “in today’s globalized world, South-South cooperation is key to building a world economy and global governance that works for all is working .”
Along with new conflicts like the war in Ukraine, “the world economy is in uncharted waters. Countries are facing the combined effects of the pandemic, a global food and energy crisis, and the climate emergency.
Drought, fires and floods, weak post-pandemic economic growth and high inflation pose even greater challenges for vulnerable countries in the Global South, she added.
For this reason, “South-South cooperation that offers solutions based on solidarity is key to helping developing countries develop collective self-resilience and promote more sustainable and equitable economic growth.”
Among many examples, India is showing Zambia how to turn cotton by-products into clean energy and jobs, Colombia is sharing its hunger reduction strategies with Mesoamerican countries, and China is working with Uganda to improve farmers’ livelihoods.
Another form of South-South cooperation is triangular cooperation, in which traditional donors and multilateral organizations facilitate initiatives between two states or two groups of countries with financing, training, management and technology systems.
Grynspan recalled that Unctad was formed in 1964 when many newly independent countries of the South were piling up urgent needs for economic growth and social development and the unit began to advocate for technical cooperation between developing countries.
A conference of 138 countries on technical cooperation between developing countries, held in Buenos Aires on September 12, 1978, prompted the annual celebration of South-South cooperation on that day.
“For decades, we’ve helped grow their business and investment opportunities, create more and better jobs for their employees, protect their environments, and build more resilient and sustainable economies,” Grynspan said.
South-South trade has grown over the years, reaching $5.3 trillion in 2021. The volume of trade between developing countries is now greater than that between the South and the developed world.
The countries of the South are also helping to boost global investment. Foreign direct investment outflows from the South account for a third of global flows.
For Unctad, “although much has been achieved, much remains to be done and the current context of multiple crises calls for even bolder South-South solidarity”.
Promoting an integrated investment, trade and industrial strategy for countries in the Global South can boost industrialization and export diversification in many developing countries, according to the agency.
Developing countries need to do more to meet their sustainable development aspirations, and South-South financial cooperation can help mobilize complementary resources to achieve the SDGs, the report concluded.
AE/HM