Revisiting South-South cooperation

One of the major topics on the agenda of the 79th session of th United Nations General Assembly which started on 10 September 2024 is the State of South-South cooperation to be considered on the basis of a report submitted by the UN Secretary-General. This is a document of 18 pages covering 75 substantive paragraphs which highlights notable developments in which South-South and triangular cooperation played a key role in 2023.

While trying to define the global context of the presentation, the report refers to the collective efforts to take collaborative measures to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic while building resilience in the face of climate change and other development challenges.

But there is also an initial indispensable warning: the need for a rescue plan for people and planet, as only 15 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goal targets are on track to be met by 2030. Under current trends, 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty in 2030.

The UN report does not make the necessary nuanced distinction between South-South, Global South and the G77 (in fact, 134 countries and China), as it is the case in specialized literature.

No definition is provided for the frequently used expression "South-South and triangular cooperation", which can be interpreted as a concept in international development and diplomacy that refers to collaboration between developing countries and the involvement of developed countries and multilateral organizations.

However, the report has the merit of mentioning from the very beginning that several countries play a pivotal role in South-South cooperation, including Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa (BRICS).They took measures to enlarge their group, inviting Egypt, Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United Arab Emirates to join the forum at the fifteenth BRICS summit, held in August 2023.

Through South-South cooperation, the expanded forum, which possesses vital food and energy systems in addition to other indispensable value chains, has the potential to contribute to key transitions needed to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.(p.2)

A complex picture

It cannot be denied that amid severe economic setbacks, including crippling debt, the rising cost of living and high borrowing rates, developing countries are assuming leadership roles in global economic governance. Multilateral diplomatic initiatives by South countries are reminded. India (2022), Indonesia (2023), Brazil (2024) and South Africa (2025) have taken on the responsibility of hosting and chairing annual meetings of the Group of 20. Such leadership provides developing countries with the opportunity to take a pivotal role in South-South cooperation and to better voice the interests of the Global South, which could help to reverse the risk of leaving 575 million people in the grip of extreme poverty by 2030, as signaled above . It prefaces policy change to strengthen human solidarity to address pressing crises such as those faced by vulnerable countries, including small island developing States, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and middle-income countries, owing to COVID-19, droughts, floods, violent conflicts and inflation.

The Group of 77 and China (in fact, as already mentioned, 134 countries) intensified its articulation of the priority concerns of the Group, including debt distress, illicit financial flows and the need for reform of the global financial system, as well as for regulation of artificial intelligence and infrastructure development. During the Sustainable Development Goals Summit held in 2023, the Group reiterated its call for the delivery of a Sustainable Development Goal stimulus and urgent reform of the international financial architecture, as proposed by the Secretary-General, to give vulnerable countries a fair chance at a better future. The Group also appealed to Northern developed countries to support the development efforts of the South on technology transfer, capacity development, industrialization and investment in sustainable and resilient infrastructure – a possible boost to transformative triangular cooperation. It continued to advocate for those and related matters in the intergovernmental process in the lead-up to the Summit of the Future, to be held in September 2024.(p.4)

As the present article is focused on Asia , it is appropriate to note that the fifth Asia-Pacific Directors General Forum for South-South and Triangular Cooperation, convened by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), launched a platform known as the South-South Cooperation Connector to foster regional collaboration and networking. In 2023, International Telecommunication Union digital transformation centres in Indonesia and the Philippines held workshops to develop the digital literacy training capacity of trainers, with support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, including courses on productivity, entrepreneurship, e-commerce, communication, cyberhygiene, cybersecurity and transformative technologies.(p.6)

UNDP supported the efforts of the Governments of Bangladesh and Uzbekistan in digitalization, fostering knowledge-sharing and regional collaboration, and South-South and triangular cooperation in the digital sector. In addition, UNDP introduced an online knowledge space to share best practices and provide a comprehensive overview of UNDP South-South and triangular cooperation impacts, as well as an innovative data and analytics tool to showcase exemplary UNDP initiatives in SouthSouth and triangular cooperation.(p.6)

The use of digital technology to boost trade among Member States also received increased backing from the United Nations development system. In 2023, the Economic Commission for Europe prepared a policy brief on monitoring progress in the implementation of sustainable digital trade facilitation focused on the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia, namely, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The policy brief enables evidence-based policymaking for the adoption of targeted measures to facilitate cross-border trade.(p.6)

At multilateral level, the Islamic Development Bank launched its South-South Cooperation Index, a composite measure to assess the existence, effectiveness and growth of the elements of national South-South cooperation ecosystems of a country.(p.7)

At the same level, nearly 23 organizations that responded to the survey by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation for the presently analyzed report confirmed their adherence to the encouragement in the Buenos Aires outcome document to mainstream South-South and triangular cooperation. That response is interpreted as being consistent with the prioritization of such cooperation in strategic plans. For example, 81 per cent of United Nations entities responding to the survey of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs indicated the inclusion of South-South cooperation in strategic plans, and 86 per cent had integrated South-South cooperation results into corporate reporting in 2023, up from 73 per cent and 79 per cent, respectively, in 2022.

The picture has to be supplemented by specific steps taken by United Nations entities to institutionalize South-South and triangular cooperation in their work by assigning South-South focal points (58 per cent), establishing dedicated units for South-South cooperation (29 per cent) and allocating a budget for South-South cooperation (20 per cent).(p.8)

A number of remarkable achievements have been reported at the national level. UNDP realized the integration of South-South and triangular cooperation in over 571 (12 per cent) of all UNDP projects, across 102 countries. More specifically, 347 projects used or will use South-South cooperation in building and enhancing capacities. In addition, 146 projects will utilize South-South cooperation to facilitate knowledge-sharing and exchanges, and 111 projects are aimed at fostering partnerships with Southern partners, underscoring the strategic importance of such collaborative approaches in advancing development objectives to attain the Sustainable Development Goals. Among them, 48 initiatives facilitated South-South and triangular cooperation to address development challenges faced by 25 small island developing States.(p.8)

An interesting example is quoted. The World Food Programme (WFP) updated its policy on South-South and triangular cooperation. As a sign of progress, for the first time, WFP country offices were able to report on specific South-South and triangular cooperation indicators, using corporate monitoring and reporting systems. Hence, country offices from all regions reported a total of 24 national policies, strategies, programmes and other systemic components contributing to zero hunger and other Sustainable Development Goals that WFP supported through South-South and triangular cooperation.(p.9)

An important quoted finding is that the heightened significance that developing countries attach to collaborative solutions justifies the continued integration of South-South and triangular cooperation into the core business of many United Nations entities, reflecting the strengthened ability of the United Nations development system to respond to the demands of developing countries to address specific development challenges through such modalities.(p.9)

Regional organizations have an active role in this field. In the Asia and the Pacific region, UNDP collaborated with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Working Group on Water Resources Management to assist six countries in addressing transboundary environmental interconnections and pollution issues through an integrated approach to river-basin management.(p.10)

UNCTAD continued to support the development and strengthening of its regional centres of excellence in Asia to address persistent and emerging challenges facing the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States.(p.11)

The United Nations Capital Development Fund Smart Green ASEAN Cities programme supports 15 cities from six South-east Asian countries, facilitating knowledge-sharing and peer-to-peer learning to develop innovative subnational financing mechanisms for sustainable urban development.(p.12)

Within the framework of UNICEF, China organized several policy dialogues and capacity-building workshops that focused on South-South cooperation, including on maternal, neonatal and child health, child nutrition, water and sanitation, and climate-adaptation action. In addition, UNICEF China facilitated Government missions to Cambodia and South Africa to formulate joint South-South cooperation projects on climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene. UNICEF Thailand facilitated a study visit by officials from the Papua New Guinea Ministry of Education to learn about early childhood education in Thailand, as well as a study visit by officials from the Department of Social Welfare and Development of the Philippines to learn about the Disability Grant Scheme of Thailand.(p.12)

In the Asia and the Pacific region, which has the only regional Directors General Forum for South-South and Triangular Cooperation, ESCAP played a critical role in championing South-South and triangular cooperation. As a result, in 2023, the Forum adopted a resolution on accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda that recognized the significance of South-South and triangular cooperation in that regard.(p.13)

The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation developed the Handbook on Integrating South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Voluntary National Reviews under the leadership of the co-chairs of the Group of Friends of the Voluntary National Reviews (Morocco and Philippines).(p.17)

Conclusions and recommendations

In the final part of the report under review, it is affirmed that South-South cooperation, with its collaborative approach, galvanized the political will of the Global South to get back on track to achieve the UN 2030 Agenda.

A few specific recommendations are formulated.We will summarize them by reminding that in this context the UN Secretary-General encourages all UN Member States to:

Facilitate the development of, and access to, appropriate technology and support digital transitions, as well as exchanges of innovative practices to protect the interests of present and future generations, and to incorporate science, artificial intelligence and data analytics into national and international development choices;

Prioritize and scale up South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives relating to the 1.9 billion young people, mostly in the Global South, to enhance their digital skills, employability and entrepreneurship, with the support of the United Nations development system, and consider establishing a South-South youth innovation fund to support youth-led sustainable development initiatives, foster innovation and enhance the meaningful engagement of young people in policymaking processes;

Strengthen the use of South-South cooperation ideals of multilateralism, solidarity and mutual interest to avoid divisions and conflicts through exchanges of successful conflict prevention and peace building strategies and peer mediation to address emerging security challenges, including cyberthreats.

A special appeal is addressed to the United Nations development system which is called upon to support Member States to enhance the establishment and development of platforms for innovation-sharing in education and pedagogical methods and leverage technological advancements through South-South and triangular cooperation.(pp.17-18)

The report concludes by stressing that it is essential that United Nations resident coordinators continue to spearhead the integration of South-South and triangular cooperation into the work of United Nations country teams.

On 5 September 2024 the UN Secretary-General declared :"South-South cooperation is essential to build capacities and drive progress on shared development goals – while in no way reducing the responsibilities of the Global North.On the same day he added : "This month's Summit of the Future in New York will be a pivotal opportunity for renewal and reform – anchored in solidarity and justice."

Indeed,the Summit of the Future, to be held on 22-23 September 2024, is expected to provide a useful vantage point from which to further accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through support for South-South and triangular cooperation.

The results of the Summit might have the role of diplomatically influencing the temperature and the tone of deliberations during the actual consideration of the report presented in these pages. Hopefully, the debate will be finalized, as in the past, with the adoption of a consensus resolution able to contribute to strengthening the cooperation between the Global South and developed countries during a difficult period characterized by planetary vulnerabilities, perplexities and discontinuities.