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Q&A: Strategic Plan Emphasises South-South Cooperation

Interview with Kemal Dervis, UNDP Administrator

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 5 2008 (IPS) - “UNDP’s South-South work is focused on marshalling the expertise and resources at our disposal to support developing countries pursue their development goals,” says Kemal Dervis, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

In an interview with IPS U.N. Correspondent Mithre J. Sandrasagra, Dervis highlighted the growing importance of South-South cooperation in UNDP’s work and stressed that UNDP’s strategic plan for 2008-2011 will place a “strong emphasis on South-South cooperation”.

IPS: Why is South-South cooperation increasingly important to the world’s developing nations? Are there any trends indicating significant growth in trade and investments among countries of the global South?

Kemal Dervis: The growing importance of South-South cooperation goes hand-in-hand with the increasingly important role that developing nations are now playing in the global economy. Many developing countries are emerging as important global suppliers of goods, finance, and technology. It is only natural that they enhance their contributions to global development, particularly to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, by sharing resources and ideas across the South.

During the period from 2001 to 2007, developing countries grew at over twice the rate of high income countries – in recent years approaching three times the latter’s growth rates. Even if we exclude rapid growers like China and India, a large number of developing countries also experienced robust growth: in 2007, 102 of 160 countries increased their per capita output by 3 percent or more, and about 70 percent of these success stories were developing countries. In international trade, developing countries and countries in transition now comprise over 40 percent of world trade – up from 35 percent in 2000. More encouraging, about half of all developing country exports are now sent to other developing countries, according to preliminary data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In addition, developing and transition economies are becoming important sources of foreign direct investment (FDI). Recent research at the United Nations shows that these economies’ outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) stock increased from 147 billion dollars in 1990 to over 1 trillion dollars by 2004. While much of these South-South investment flows are regional, recent trends seem to be pointing to an expansion: in 2004, for example, about half of China’s OFDI went to Latin America. Similarly, Malaysian companies are investing in South Africa, and Brazilian companies are investing in Angola and Nigeria.

Through these linkages in trade and investment in an increasingly interconnected world, the socio-economic condition of one developing country has significant implications for the prospects of its neighbours. Moreover, there are increasingly many success stories of countries in the South sharing knowledge and expertise with other developing countries, leading to unprecedented demand among developing countries for Southern development solutions.

IPS: Can South-South cooperation be viewed from a development angle rather than a political angle?

KD: South-South cooperation is both a political and an economic development issue. These two dimensions are interrelated and can be mutually reinforcing. The peoples of the South and their governments can – and do – often choose to work together or to assist each other in various social, political, economic, and cultural spheres. By sharing lessons learned or technologies with each other, for example, countries in the South that have faced similar challenges are often well suited to help each other identify and implement appropriate development solutions.

IPS: Can South-South cooperation help developing countries meet targets set by the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals, including the eradication of poverty and hunger, and the fight against HIV/AIDS?

KD: Current trends towards increased South-South flows of development assistance, trade and investment suggest that through South-South partnerships, developing countries are certainly doing more to promote human development in the global South and promote the achievement of the MDGs.

UNDP’s South-South work is focused on marshalling the expertise and resources at our disposal to support developing countries pursue their development goals using as wide a range of relevant tools as possible. UNDP has a special unit devoted to this which brokers the sharing of knowledge, experience and development solutions across countries and regions.

For instance, on the question of the fight against AIDS, Brazil’s HIV/AIDS control policies are being shared with other developing countries. UNDP set up a South-South programme through which Brazil was able to share its experience in combating HIV/AIDS with Botswana, and Brazil’s assistance is now extending to 11 other developing countries, including East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Nicaragua and Cape Verde. Similar programmes are helping and can help efforts to reach all the MDGs.

IPS: The Special Unit for South-South Cooperation within UNDP – in collaboration with the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the State of Qatar – recently organized an innovative High-Level meeting of senior policymakers from developing countries in Doha to enable current petroleum exporting countries share their knowledge and experience with emerging and potential oil and gas producing nations. What were the outcomes of the meeting?

KD: The meeting was very significant in a number of ways. While it was the first meeting of its kind, it succeeded in bringing together representatives of 42 countries of Africa, Asia, Arab States, Eastern Europe and Latin America, as well as representatives of a number of U.N. organizations and agencies to come up with concrete recommendations on areas where new and existing producers of oil and gas would like to collaborate. These recommendations included the desire to organize training events for emerging oil and gas producers to build their capacity in hydrocarbon management and related legal and contractual matters; the promotion of environmental policies and standards in all phases of the development of the hydrocarbon sector; attention to social concerns and the establishment of a South-South centre; and a network for hydrocarbon management as a matter of priority.

IPS: The General Assembly’s High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation has called upon the U.N. to mainstream South-South cooperation as a crosscutting issue at the heart of the development agenda and within its regular programmes. What has been done in this regard?

KD: UNDP, through the important work of the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, has instituted South-South cooperation as an important aspect of its strategic work. The UNDP strategic plan for 2008-2011 has a strong emphasis on South-South cooperation. Other agencies, such as the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UNEP, which in 2005 established a South-South Coordination Unit, have recently made South-South cooperation a major component of their programming and budget beginning in 2008. The U.N. Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) established the first Centre for South-South Industrial Cooperation in India and Brazil in 2007 and has plans to launch similar such centres in China, Egypt and South Africa. Other organizations, such as UNCTAD, the International Labour Organization (ILO), U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) have facilitated South-South exchanges and modalities through multi-lateral development programmes and projects among Southern countries. UNCTAD has also undertaken research and produced reports highlighting trends in south-south flows of trade and investment.

IPS: UNDP has stressed the importance of strengthening South-South cooperation between middle-income countries and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Can you point to any success stories or lessons learned in this regard?

KD: A number of middle-income countries have developed expertise in technologically advanced and more traditional economic sectors. Given their affinity with many of the issues facing developing countries, and their ability to deliver results at relatively low-cost, middle-income countries have and will continue to play a pivotal role in improving the development prospects of LDCs. There are a number of success stories in this regard. For example, Thailand and Malaysia have engaged in multilateral and bi-lateral initiatives to build infrastructure and promote mutually beneficial trade and investment relations within their regions through their “prosper thy neighbour” policy. Egypt has also made significant contributions to development for LDCs, providing humanitarian assistance to at least 30 countries in Africa. Countless other middle-income countries, such as China, India and Cuba have deepened their commitment to South-South cooperation, providing aid, assistance and long-term investment in LDCs that lack access to life-saving drugs or are in urgent need of technological capacities and resources to address a wide range of development challenges.