SOUTH-SOUTH AND TRIANGULAR COOPERATION IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19
Lessons, Experiences and Insights for the Future of Development Cooperation
The world is going through an unprecedented time, grappling with the socio-economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries are dealing with this challenge by strengthening their healthcare systems, conducting research to find a cure or vaccine and providing social safety nets to make sure those who are vulnerable don’t suffer extreme consequences. In this context, many countries have also been helping each other through South-South and Triangular Cooperation. Stakeholders ranging from governments to bilateral cooperation agencies, private sector to civil society, have learned many lessons, enhanced their experiences and gained new insights into development cooperation.
This webinar will provide an opportunity to discuss early lessons learned and share experiences from the development cooperation scene in the context of the ongoing pandemic, while looking into specific insights about how South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTrC) has been used so far, and how it can further be strengthened to benefit development cooperation in times of severe and sudden external shocks in the future.
Join speakers from various cooperation and development agencies from across the globe and share your insights through this event!
South Centre Semester Report, 1 January to 30 June 2020
This Semester Report summarizes the activities undertaken by the South Centre during the period 1st January to 30 June 2020. It is intended to provide information, organized by themes, about recent developments in the areas covered by the Centre’s Work Program, meetings organized or co-organized by the Centre to examine particular issues or provide analytical support for negotiations taking place in various international fora, and conferences and other meetings where the Centre has participated. It also informs about publications made.
Reverse Linkage: IsDB’s Role in Deploying the Power of South-South Cooperation to Tackle COVID-19 Pandemic
Message from H.E. Dr. Bandar M. H. Hajjar, President, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, on the occasion of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation
COVID-19 Crisis and Developing Countries: Digital Health Perspective
By Ambassador Fauzia Nasreen, Dr. Azeema Fareed, Ms. Huma Balouch
Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS)
Technology and Innovation are quintessentially relevant especially in dealing with the multiple threats posed by COVID-19. Most developing countries are already under tremendous stress because of financial constraints, enormous development challenges and technology innovation and knowledge deficiencies. COVID-19 which has disrupted every walk of life is having a multiplier effect on many countries, posing difficult governance choices. Reform and reorientation of the health system and structure is fundamentally important in dealing with the public health issues in the post COVID-19 period, and digital health could help in providing solutions.
Developing National Ecosystems for South-South and Triangular Cooperation to Achieve Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development
To maximize the benefits of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTrC), it would be imperative to have an effective “national ecosystem” – an institutional framework at national level. Over the years, the pace of institutional improvements in conducting SSTrC by Southern countries has lagged far behind the fast expansion of SSTrC in size, making it a constraint for unleashing the full potential of SSTrC. On 26 September 2019, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the South Centre and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) launched the joint publication entitled “Developing National Ecosystems for South-South and Triangular Cooperation to Achieve Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development” on the side lines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. It discusses how to strengthen national ecosystems to promote SSTrC. The concept of national ecosystem advocates a bottom-up and incremental approach. It emphasizes that the national ecosystem is not meant to be prescriptive or a one size fits all model. Developing an effective national ecosystem for SSTrC requires understanding of the national realities and objectives and takes time, effort, commitments and financing.
Inequality is one of the greatest challenges that the world needs to face. Inequality is intimately linked with poverty. Although there has been progress in reducing poverty, a large part of the global population (overwhelmingly living in developing countries) is still denied access to a dignified life. While no poverty and reduced inequality are two of the outstanding Sustainable Development Goals, these and other goals are unlikely to be achieved by 2030. In fact, inequality is on the rise. Changing this situation will certainly require significant efforts at the national and regional level. But it also requires an international architecture that supports those efforts by respecting the policy space that countries need and coordinating constructive actions within the multilateral system. The current initiatives to ‘reform’ this system will only be legitimate if they recognize the gaps in the levels of development and contribute to effectively address them under a fair, pro-development system of rules. Please see last month’s SouthViews on “Understanding global inequality in the 21st century” by Jayati Ghosh, development economist and Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
