Developing South-South cooperation

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) annually reviews South-South cooperation. Unfortunately, the theme of this cooperation continues to be absent from the mainstream media agenda. No attention was paid to statements by Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General, who stressed that "more than ever we need solidarity, hope, political will and cooperation .... The principles of South-South cooperation of solidarity and empathy are more than ever necessary for an effective response and recovery from the pandemic ".

A significant report

According to the UN Secretariat, the best example of solidarity between countries is offered by South-South cooperation.

The most recent official document on this cooperation is the Report of the High-Level Committee for South-South Cooperation, Twentieth Session (June 1-4, 2021), which was released on August 20. This session brought together many countries, including: Australia, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Timor- Leste.

This report has 34 pages. We will limit our analysis in this article to highlighting the main findings, considerations and proposals that are specifically linked to the value of solidarity mentioned 16 times,due to its fundamental role in promoting cooperation at the regional, interregional and global levels.

In Decision 20/1 entitled South-South Cooperation, the High-Level Committee referred first to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which reaffirms the resolute political will to face the funding challenges and to create , at all levels, an environment conducive to sustainable development, in a spirit of global partnership and solidarity.

Solidarity news

In this context, it is logically reaffirmed in the preamble of the decision that South-South cooperation is an important element of international cooperation for development. This cooperation complements North-South cooperation, but is not a substitute for it.

The High-Level Committee is aware of the importance of this cooperation, its historical differences and its particularities, that it should be considered as a manifestation of solidarity between the peoples and countries of the South, based on their common experiences and goals. It should continue to be governed by the principles of national sovereignty, national ownership and independence, equality, freedom from conditions, non-interference in internal affairs and mutual interest.

An important conclusion of the meeting was that the increased global interdependence resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic urgently calls for enhanced international solidarity and cooperation, including through South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation with the North represented by developed countries.

A common idea was summarized in the report as follows: "South-South cooperation was more important than ever, as the need for regional solidarity, multilateralism, partnerships and cooperation was greater in the face of devastating global crises such as the 2019 coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) and climate change ".

This idea was further explored by many delegations who felt that the principle of solidarity that underpinned South-South cooperation had brought many benefits to developing countries during the pandemic. One delegation recalled that the existing forms of North-South cooperation had left developing countries to themselves, which had prompted its country to help, in a spirit of solidarity, 150 other developing countries by donating medicines, medical equipment and related supplies. His government had distributed vaccines to the most vulnerable countries in the spirit of South-South cooperation.

Political aspects

The political aspects of cooperation have not been overlooked and are well reflected in the report. Thus, one delegation stressed that the fight against the global health crisis and its multiple consequences required concerted political will, solidarity and cooperation. Thus, cooperation between countries of the South had to scale up, strengthen its ambitions, make a qualitative leap and become more effective.

Another delegation argued that in order to recover from the pandemic, it will be imperative to strengthen international cooperation and solidarity. To do this, it is necessary to declare anti-COVID-19 vaccines common goods of humanity and unlock the financial resources necessary to ensure access and equitable distribution to all peoples of the world, while developing the capacities to guarantee their production and distribution in developing countries.

Renewed commitments

In this regard, highlighting their renewed commitment to multilateralism, many delegations noted that a solution to global crises, including the pandemic and climate change, could not be found if countries acted only individually. One delegation referred to Nicolae Titulescu, a twentieth-century Romanian diplomat elected twice President of the League of Nations Assembly, who said that "hardship creates the true brotherhood of nations" . Therefore, this delegation believed that in this time of trial only full solidarity between countries will make it possible to defeat the pandemic on a global scale and achieve the sustainable development goals.

Role of the United Nations

As expected, many delegations highlighted the role of the United Nations development system in promoting South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation and welcomed the strategy on South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation for sustainable development at the level of the whole United Nations system. There was broad agreement among delegations that the UN should play a leading role in promoting South-South cooperation, as multilateralism was the only way to address common challenges and global solidarity and it is necessary for resilience and recovery in order to be able to build back better in a greener approach.

Some representatives from Asia said that at the UN level the challenges posed by the pandemic had given rise to new forms and expressions of solidarity. South-South cooperation was an increasingly important form of cooperation. During the past year, the challenges that had arisen had demonstrated the critical need for South-South cooperation. For example, developing countries received only 0.3% of doses of COVID-19 vaccine, despite the fact that most of the world's population lived in those countries. It was obvious that the model of North-South cooperation was running out of steam because of the reluctance of certain countries of the North to play their rightful role; for example, only six developed countries had honored their commitment to provide 0.7% of their gross national income to developing countries.

What happened next ?

The report summarized above was discussed in detail in October in the Second Committee of the UNGA, whose mandate is focused on economic issues.

During the discussion, the representative of Bangladesh, joining the Group of 77 and China (134 countries), said it was encouraging that new forms of solidarity had emerged among developing countries, given the multidimensional challenges they face. His country had participated in global efforts to strengthen South-South cooperation through knowledge sharing and planned to establish a South-South Knowledge and Innovation Center in Dhaka. According to him, the international community must create a system where the countries of the South can share best practices among themselves, with the financial and technical support of the countries of the North.

A living example of South-South cooperation

The position of the ten ASEAN members on South-South cooperation was formally presented by the representative of Thailand who said that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated inequalities both within countries and between them. To get back on track to achieve the 2030 Agenda, it is necessary to step up action at the local, national, regional and global levels and to make full use of all available tools, including North-South, South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation. As a regional organization, ASEAN is a living example of South-South cooperation. Mutually beneficial cooperation has been the backbone of ASEAN since its inception and has laid the foundation for advancing ASEAN regional integration and developing an ASEAN community with three pillars of cooperation. : political and security, economic and socio-cultural.

Thailand also announced the Global South-South Development Expo, which will be co-hosted by Thailand, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation and ESCAP, in Bangkok in 2022.

Other delegations stressed the importance of global solidarity and reminded that North-South cooperation can also profit from lessons learned from South-South cooperation. Emphasizing the need for transparency, they called for solidarity without conditionality.

On 30 November the UN Secretary General António Guterres attended the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Group of 77 and China, in New York. He stated inter alia: "We need a quantum leap in unity and solidarity to make collective decisions on the global challenges we face." This call has a great significance and topicality during present times characterized by global vulnerabilities, perplexities and discontinuities.

Further development of South-South cooperation might represent a valuable contribution to a globalization with human face as expected by all peoples.