13 January 2010
DELEGATES DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION AND UN’S ROLE
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From 1-3 December 2009, delegates gathered at the High-Level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation to deliberate the challenges faced by developing countries in furthering socio-economic development – including economic recovery, food security and climate change issues – and to review 30 years of progress since the 1978 UN Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing […]

From 1-3 December 2009, delegates gathered at the High-Level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation to deliberate the challenges faced by developing countries in furthering socio-economic development – including economic recovery, food security and climate change issues – and to review 30 years of progress since the 1978 UN Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries held in Buenos Aires.

The conference featured round table discussions on “Strengthening the role of the United Nations system in supporting South-South and triangular cooperation” and “South-South and triangular cooperation for development: complementarities, specificities, challenges and opportunities.” On the final day, delegates adopted the Nairobi Outcome Document, which recognizes the increasing relevance of South-South cooperation, as developing countries increase human development and become major players in the global economic system.
The document emphasizes economic growth through regional common markets, custom unions, and the relevance of capacity building projects among developing countries, including low income and middle income countries, as well as developed countries in triangular cooperation. The document also emphasizes that South-South cooperation is not a replacement for North-South cooperation, and encourages the assessment of existing experiences to enhance national coordination mechanisms and sharing of lessons learned. It stresses that the principles guiding South-South cooperation differ from those of official development assistance (ODA), since the former should be free of conditionality. The document reaffirmed the importance of multilateral and regional organizations as catalysts for cooperation and highlighted the role of the Special Unit for South South Cooperation, hosted by UNDP, calling countries to support it.
UNDP Administrator Helen Clark welcomed the outcome document and emphasized that by identifying complementarities and performing needs-capacity of countries, it would be possible to build innovative and inclusive partnerships.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) also hosted a meeting with experts from more than 20 countries in Geneva, from 14-16 December 2009, to discuss South-South, ‘triangular’ cooperation to help agricultural development and food security.
Links to further information
UN press release, 2 December 2009
UN press release, 3 December 2009
UN News Centre, 14 December 2009


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