Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
58/220. Economic and technical cooperation among developing countries
The General Assembly,
Stressing that South-South cooperation, as an important element of international cooperation for development, offers viable opportunities for developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their individual and collective pursuit of sustained economic growth and sustainable development,
Recognizing that developing countries have the primary responsibility for promoting and implementing South-South cooperation, not as a substitute for but rather as a complement to North-South cooperation, and in this context reiterating the need for the international community to support the efforts of the developing countries to expand South-South cooperation,
Taking note of the Ministerial Declaration adopted by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the States members of the Group of 77 at their twenty-seventh annual meeting, held in New York on 25 September 2003, in which the increased importance and relevance of South-South cooperation were re-emphasized,
1. Takes note of the report of the High-level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries on its thirteenth session, endorses the decisions adopted by the High-level Committee at that session, and decides to change the name of the Committee to High-level Committee on South- South Cooperation, with no change in its mandate or in the scope of its activities;
2. Takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General on the state of South- South cooperation4 and on raising public awareness of and support for South-South cooperation;
3. Reaffirms the need to strengthen further, within its available resources, the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation of the United Nations Development Programme as a separate entity and a focal point for South-South cooperation within the United Nations system, recognizes that its activities should be perceived as an integral part of the overall development policy of the United Nations system and the United Nations Development Programme, and in this context calls upon United Nations funds and programmes and other entities of the United Nations development system to intensify efforts to mainstream technical and economic cooperation among developing countries by using relevant national, regional and international mechanisms in consultation with Member States;
4. Notes with interest that South-South cooperation can have a positive impact on global, regional and national policies and actions in the economic, social and development fields in the developing countries, and urges developing countries and their partners to intensify South-South and triangular cooperation in these areas, as they contribute to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration;
5. Recognizes that regional integration initiatives between developing countries constitute an important and valuable form of South-South cooperation and that regional integration is a step towards beneficial integration into the world economy;
6. Also recognizes the urgent need to help to strengthen the capacities of the developing countries, especially the least developed countries, to participate in and benefit from globalization and liberalization processes, and to this end welcomes the initiatives being undertaken at the subregional, regional, interregional and global levels towards establishing public-private partnership mechanisms aiming to enhance and expand South-South cooperation in trade and investment, and in this context notes the initiatives of the World Trade Forum;
7. Reiterates the urgent need to help to strengthen institutions and centres of excellence in the South, especially at the regional and interregional levels, with a view to making more effective use of such entities towards improved South-South knowledge-sharing, networking, capacity-building, information and best practices exchanges, policy analysis and coordinated action among developing countries on major issues of common concern, and in this context encourages such institutions and centres of excellence, as well as regional and subregional economic groupings, to establish closer links and bridges among themselves, including through the Web of Information for Development of the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation;
8. Notes with interest the holding of the High-level Conference on South- South Cooperation in Marrakesh, Morocco, from 16 to 19 December 2003, and calls upon developing countries, and encourages their development partners and relevant international organizations, to participate actively in the Conference in order to ensure its success and increase the momentum and intensity of South-South cooperation;
9. Urges all relevant United Nations organizations and multilateral institutions to intensify their efforts to effectively mainstream the use of South- South cooperation in the design, formulation and implementation of their regular programmes and to consider increasing allocations of human, technical and financial resources for supporting South-South cooperation initiatives, and in this regard takes note of the initiatives contained in the Havana Programme of Action adopted by the first South Summit7 and the follow-up to the High-level Conference on South-South Cooperation in Marrakesh, as well as the preparations for the second South Summit in 2005;
10. Recognizes the need to mobilize additional resources for enhancing South-South cooperation, reiterates in this context its decision in its resolution 57/263 of 20 December 2002 to include the Voluntary Trust Fund for the Promotion of South-South Cooperation in the United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities, as long as it exists, and in the same manner decides to include the Pérez-Guerrero Trust Fund for Economic and Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries in the same Pledging Conference, and invites all countries, in particular developed countries, to support South-South and triangular cooperation through, inter alia, these funds, bearing in mind the need for these funds to continue to use such resources in an effective manner;
11. Decides to declare 19 December, the date on which the General Assembly endorsed the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries,8 as the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation;
12. Also decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixtieth session a sub-item entitled “South-South cooperation for development”, and requests the Secretary-General to submit at that session a comprehensive report on the state of South-South cooperation and on the implementation of the present resolution.
78th plenary meeting
23 December 2003
By resolution 58/220 of 23 December 2003, the General Assembly decided to declare 19 December, United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation. This was the date on which the General Assembly endorsed the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.
The Assembly also urged all relevant United Nations organizations and multilateral institutions to intensify their efforts to effectively mainstream the use of South-South cooperation in the design, formulation and implementation of their regular programmes and to consider increasing allocations of human, technical and financial resources for supporting South-South cooperation initiatives.
South-South Trade Promotion Programme
The South-South Trade Promotion Programme is a programme aimed at generating new trade and investment transactions between enterprises in developing countries and transition economies.
About South-South Trade Promotion Programme
What is South-South Trade Promotion Programme ?
A set of tools designed to identify trade and investment opportunities and translate them into business transactions by bringing importers and exporters together.
The tools are assembled in a customized mix to suit the specific requirements of partner enterprises, organizations and countries. The main tools are:
> Trade Flow Analyses, that identify import, export and related investment opportunities across groups of countries;
> Supply and Demand Surveys, that document market characteristics and identify opportunities and potential beneficiaries through field research on a product and country basis; and
> Buyers/Sellers Meetings, which serve as platforms for companies to conduct business transactions and take advantage of the identified opportunities.
Follow-up action, at enterprise, institutional and government level, aims at sustaining south-south business links.
Special applications of the programme include linking developing country enterprises with international aid agencies operating in their region; and facilitating backward and forward linkages in the creation of regional value chains.
Who is South-South Trade Promotion Programme benefiting ?
Business associations and national, regional and inter-governmental organizations promoting economic linkages among developing countries and transition economies.
National, regional and subregional trade promotion organizations as well as chambers of commerce and professional associations require practical tools to service the trade promotion needs of their constituents. Inter-governmental organizations include secretariats of economic integration groupings, regional development banks and associations of development finance institutions that play an active role in the promotion of trade and investment in their member countries.
Where is South-South Trade Promotion Programme implemented ?
The ITC methodology has been extensively used in Africa, where it contributed to an accelerated expansion of intra-African trade. It is currently operational in all developing regions and in many transition economies. It is constantly adapted to the specific circumstances of the regional trading environment on which it is applied.
Key messages
Opportunities
South-south trade is insignificant when compared to global trade as a whole, yet it represents many unique and often unknown business opportunities for developing country enterprises.
Unique expertise
ITC is the only technical assistance organization promoting south-south trade in a cost-effective manner through a dedicated global programme and tailor-made instruments.
Enterprise focus and the bottom-up approach
ITC works directly with enterprises and their trade support institutions, within a sector-specific and region-specific context. In doing so, policy constraints are identified, and targeted impulses are created for improving the south-south business environment.
Regional link-ups for enhanced global competitiveness
ITC's South-South Trade Promotion Programme is designed and implemented to maximize opportunities for the development of business linkages across borders in the South, and to induce a more competitive business performance globally.
Fuentes:
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N03/507/72/PDF/N0350772.pdf?OpenElement
http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/events/south/index.html
http://www.intracen.org/south-south/