27 June 2017: India has announced a number of South-South cooperation efforts, with contributions to the UN Trust Fund for International Cooperation in Tax Matters (the UN Tax Fund) and to Fiji’s COP 23 Presidency Trust Fund. It is also cooperating with Pacific Island countries on, inter alia, renewable energy and early warning to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters.
India made the first voluntary contribution to the UN Trust Fund for International Cooperation in Tax Matters (the UN Tax Fund), which was established to help developing countries participate in the discussion of tax issues, particularly at subcommittee meetings of the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters (UN Tax Committee), a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). In its announcement, India expressed the hope that its US$100,000 contribution will inspire other developing countries to contribute, and that more developing countries will draw on best practices of other bodies to ensure that global tax cooperation rules are more effective and efficient.
The Financing for Development Office within the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) acts as the Secretariat for the UN Tax Committee. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), which was adopted at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in 2015, calls for support to the UN Tax Committee and its subsidiary bodies through contributions to the voluntary Trust Fund.
The Government of India also announced a contribution of US$1 million to Fiji’s COP 23 Presidency Trust Fund, which was established for the funding of the State’s role as President of the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 23) to the UNFCCC, and to assist the Government to finance programmes, projects and activities that relate to the Paris Agreement and for related matters. COP 23 will convene in November 2017 in Bonn, Germany.
The announcement was made during the India-Pacific Islands Sustainable Development Conference, which took place from 25-26 May 2017 in Suva, Fiji. The Conference provided a platform for exchanging ideas to help boost the blue economy in the Indo-Pacific region. It focused on, inter alia: the blue economy as a template for sustainable development; solar energy; sustainable business; innovative financing; disaster preparedness; health issues; climate change and challenges regarding implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC); and knowledge and technology sharing and capacity building.
India and Pacific Island countries also signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on: centers of excellence in information technology in Fiji, the Cook Islands, Nauru, Samoa and Niue; renewable energy; youth development; and cooperation between broadcasting agencies. [UN Press Release on India’s Tax Trust Fund Contribution] [Government of India Press Release on India-Pacific Islands Conference] [India-Pacific Island Sustainable Development Conference Website] [Statement on Partnership with UN and Pacific SIDS] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on India-UN Development Partnership Fund]