Q&A: SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION In FOCUS
Interview with Kemal Dervis, UNDP Administrator
NEW YORK (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 t (END)
