PROVEN TRACK RECORD OF TECHNICAL COOPERATION AMONG DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NOTED DURING HIGH-LEVEL COMMITTEE DISCUSSION
Press Release
DEV/2211
PROVEN TRACK RECORD OF TECHNICAL COOPERATION AMONG DEVELOPING COUNTRIES NOTED DURING HIGH-LEVEL COMMITTEE DISCUSSION
19990601 Increased Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in Promoting TCDC And Its Mainstreaming within UN System Cited as Reasons for OptimismTechnical cooperation among developing countries (TCDC) had a proven track record of success,and the best way forward was to make more efficient use of existing resources, the representative of the United States said this afternoon as the High-level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries continued its general debate.
He said reasons for optimism included the increased role of non- governmental organizations in promoting TCDC and its mainstreaming within the United Nations system. The role of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in promoting TCDC approaches was notable since developing countries were often in a position to lend TCDC support in that area because of cultural and other sensitivities.
Indonesia's representative said the increasing role of the developed countries in the expansion of TCDC, particularly through triangular cooperation, showed that more and more countries were accepting the rationale that it was far more constructive to assist developing countries to help themselves. That built their capacities to integrate into the global economy as productive members, rather than allowing them to be further marginalized or to risk their becoming acutely vulnerable to recurring financial crises.
The challenges of the next century, the representative of Ghana said, could not be met without a revitalized commitment to an enlarged but reformed development cooperation framework. It must be recognized that economies existed for people, not people for economies. Technical cooperation among developing countries (TCDC) and economic cooperation among developing countries (ECDC) showed the way to that new development framework, which would only work in a fair and supportive international economic environment where major developed countries shouldered a special responsibility.
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Egypt's representative said that cooperation among countries of the South could not be considered a substitute for cooperation between the North and the South -- the two were complementary. Whether triangular or with the direct support of the developed countries or the United Nations system, TCDC should focus on high priorities such as the elimination of poverty. It should receive its guidelines from the international system, with the Buenos Aires Plan of Action as the legal starting point.
Statements were also made by the representatives of the Republic of Korea, Turkey, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Norway, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Senegal, Guatemala and Tunisia.
In addition, statements were made by the representatives of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries.
The Director of the Special Unit for TCDC responded to representatives' questions and comments.
The High-level Committee will meet again tomorrow, Wednesday, at 10 a.m. to continue its general debate on the theme of its eleventh session, "The role of technical cooperation among developing countries in accelerating growth and equitable development through broad-based partnership".
Committee Work Programme
The High-level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC) met this afternoon to continue its general debate on the theme of its eleventh session, "The Role of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries in Accelerating Growth and Equitable Development through Broad-Based Partnership". (For background on the session, see Press Release DEV/2209 of 28 May.)
PATRICIA DURRANT (Jamaica), President of the High-level Committee, announced that Committee Vice-Chairman Ole Peter Kolby (Norway) had been elected Chairman of the Committee's working group.
Statements
SUH DAE-WON (Republic of Korea) said the integration of TCDC and Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries (ECDC) modalities were a prerequisite for the full and effective implementation of South-South cooperation. The participation of the private sector in implementing South- South cooperation should be vigorously pursued to optimally utilize the private sector's financial and technical resources and know-how. The most useful and cost-effective way to promote TCDC was through the collection and dissemination of information on TCDC among developing countries. Lack of financial resources had been a major obstacle in practical development of TCDC and, therefore, a triangular funding arrangement should be developed through the contributions of developed countries and international organizations.
The Republic of Korea had been actively engaged in promoting TCDC since its early development, he continued. Some of Korea's TCDC programmes had been jointly implemented in close cooperation with other countries. And to promote TCDC, Korea would host in November a South-South forum for technical cooperation, to which representatives of major research and development institutions of developing countries would be invited.
NURI BIRTEK (Turkey) said his country was referred to as an "emerging donor" whose official development assistance (ODA) in 1997 had amounted to $105 million. Technical cooperation constituted $26.7 million of that, corresponding to 63 per cent of total bilateral aid. Some 44 developing countries had been beneficiaries of that technical cooperations.
With regard to the New Directions Strategy, he said the reorientation of existing practices should be in the direction of identifying pilot countries where United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) projects would be implemented through TCDC by identifying the need for experts and training that could be met by utilizing capacities in developing countries. That would integrate TCDC into mainstream activities such as poverty alleviation, income generation, environment and governance. Also important was the improvement of
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links with centres of excellence; the closer operational integration between TCDC and ECDC; triangular cooperation arrangements; and primarily, increased funding of TCDC projects from national resources and with the private sector.
DAUL MATUTE (Peru) said TCDC was a valuable tool to promote the economic growth of the developing countries by means of an innovative exchange of suitable experiences and technologies within countries with similar national realities in an increasingly globalized world. In Peru, a bilateral approach had been emphasized and measures of cooperation had been initiated and followed up with countries in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Visits by high-level delegations from such countries as Mali, Bolivia, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala had led to the implementation of specific TCDC measures in subjects of bilateral interest.
He said that, as the century drew to its conclusion, TCDC had matured and acted as a counterweight to the decrease in traditional North-South cooperation, which had been marked to a greater extent in countries with a medium level of development. Within the first years of the new millennium, TCDC would become a mechanism of cooperation with a greater scope for exchanges of technologies and experiences in the solution of similar problems between developing countries.
MAURICO ESCANERO (Mexico) said that from a North-South as well as a South-South perspective, it was indispensable to mobilize the greatest amount of human, material, financial and technical resources. It was also necessary to find solutions to the indebtedness problems of the least developed countries. Mexico had achieved experience in the cooperation field, both as a recipient country and as a donor country. It had a reciprocal partnership with countries of similar development and had acted as a supplier of cooperation to those less developed countries. North-South cooperation programmes must be complementary and must converge with South-South programmes.
MOSES ASAGA, Deputy Minister of Finance of Ghana, aligning himself with the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the world was fraught with tension due to uneven distribution and utilization of wealth and resources. Vast inequality, with its concomitant instability and violence, was becoming the norm. Africa was a continent beset by various socio-economic problems that worked against the rapid development of its people. In many African countries, most of the people did not have access to basic education and health services, and transportation and telecommunications were still relatively underdeveloped.
He said that in light of such problems, as well as in the context of the current international economic order which, despite the protests of developing countries, continued to be characterized by unfair trade practices, inequitable distribution of wealth and the increasing marginalization of
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developing countries, Ghana firmly maintained that TCDC remained an important strategy for achieving the developmental goals and aspirations of developing countries.
The challenges of today and the next century, he said, enormous as they might seem, could not be met without a revitalized commitment to an enlarged but reformed development cooperation framework which must recognize that economies existed for people, not people for economies. TCDC and ECDC showed the way to that new development framework. Development could only take place in a fair and supportive international economic environment, in which major developed countries shouldered a special responsibility.
FABIO OCAZIONES (Colombia) said his country sought technical cooperation with other countries in the context of considerations such as reciprocity, balance and respect of national sovereignty. He then outlined some technical projects Colombia had pursued with other countries, particularly in the Caribbean, including relief projects in the wake of Hurricane Mitch.
He noted that TCDC had become a tool of great importance but that without suitable funding it would not be effective. Initiatives with triangular funding using the resources of developed countries had increased, but the United Nations should be more involved with TCDC initiatives.
GEORGE SOUTHERN (United States) said TCDC was a development modality with a proven track record of success. The reports before the Committee indicated that development countries had taken ownership of TCDC. Funds from donor countries, particularly from UNDP's Special Unit, were important, but in the end TCDC needed full commitment from its main beneficiaries.
The best way forward was to make more efficient use of existing TCDC resources, particularly through the New Directions strategy of UNDP's Special Unit, he continued. Among the reasons for optimism were the increased role of non-governmental organizations in promoting TCDC and the mainstreaming of TCDC within the United Nations system. The role of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in promoting TCDC approaches was notable, since developing countries were often in a position to lend TCDC support in that area because of cultural and other sensitivities.
NURY VARGAS (Costa Rica) said neither force nor wealth but education distinguished people and nations. Costa Rica's position on the UNDP human development scale was second in the region. It had developed technical development programmes with numerous neighbours in such areas as health and the environment. Costa Rica was a peaceful country that hoped to make a qualitative jump at the start of the century by reviewing its educational policies and overhauling its education model so as to aim at increasing employment in the technological sector. Through education, Costa Rica would enter the new millennium at a level better than mere subsistence.
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OLE PETER KOLBY (Norway) said donor countries should play an active and supportive role in fostering an increased use of the TCDC modality in development cooperation. Norway deeply regretted the declining overseas development assistance and had sought to counter that unfortunate trend by increasing its own overseas development assistance. Overseas development assistance and TCDC should mutually reinforce each other. Consequently, increased South-South cooperation should not be at the expense of the much- needed development assistance provided by the industrialized countries.
The potential development impact of TCDC for developing countries was increasingly being recognized, he said. South-South cooperation was essential as a means of sharing relevant development experiences in order to better identify common areas of understanding and common positions in response to the challenges posed by the globalization process. That, in turn, would strengthen the developing countries' ownership of the development processes and reinforce national capacities.
He said it was also apparent that increased cooperation, through enhanced trade and investment, would lead to further economic growth and social development. Norway was therefore pleased that the World Trade Organization had recently adopted a waiver that would enable developing countries to grant preferential market access to products from the least developed countries. Norway had allocated considerable financial resources to supporting and consolidating various initiatives on South-South cooperation, including triangular cooperation arrangements, as referred to in the documents before the High-level Committee.
ALOUNKEO KITTIKHOUN (Lao People's Democratic Republic), speaking on behalf of the Landlocked Developing Countries, said that group associated itself with the statement of the Group of 77 and China.
Speaking about development cooperation, he said one should not lose sight of the fact that the landlocked developing countries were among the very poorest of the developing countries. The lack of territorial access to the sea, aggravated by remoteness and isolation from world markets, continued to be one of the main causes of their poverty. In fact, with high transit transport costs, their imports were rendered expensive and their products could not become competitive in the world markets. In turn, that situation could only lead to the further marginalization of the landlocked developing countries from the international trading system.
He said that the reduction of high transport costs did not just require action within their own frontiers, but also depended heavily on improvements in transport, customs, border crossing measures and facilities of neighbouring countries. In that context, the landlocked and transit developing countries should cooperate and intensify their collaborative efforts, through improving the transit transport infrastructure facilities and services, bilateral and
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regional agreements to govern transit transport operations, development of joint ventures in the area of transit transport, and strengthening of institutions and human resources dealing with transit transport.
IBRA DEGUENE KA (Senegal) said his country had a dual role with regard to TCDC. While it was a receiver, it was also a provider of technical cooperation activities, and was thus in an excellent position to share its TCDC experience. Trade, finance and investment were key areas for activities. In addition, it should be remembered, "no one will do for us what we are not prepared to do for ourselves".
Despite significant progress achieved in the context of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, he continued, globalization had imposed new constraints. The South-South Summit of next April would be an opportunity for approaching those problems through new solutions and arrangements such as triangular funding and cooperation. Partners in the North had introduced some innovative approaches; the Summit Group of Developing Countries, the G-15, for example, had created real opportunities in the area of South-South trade. He said ECDC and TCDC should be integrated, because together they were the basis for development, and for making development through South-South cooperation into a reality.
GERT ROSENTHAL (Guatemala) said he was committed to horizontal cooperation in general and to TCDC in particular, especially in view of preparations for the South-South Summit to be held in Havana next April. It was profitable to meet on implementation of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, now reoriented toward a millennial perspective. The theme of the eleventh High-level meeting anticipated that of the upcoming Summit.
Guatemala had benefitted from TCDC activities, he said. Over 270 projects were susceptible to technological cooperation; however, funding was the impediment to implementation. Triangular funding would help. Guatemala had benefitted most when experts of other developing countries had visited. New initiatives should take place in contexts of regional cooperation and needs; however, the United Nations should take a greater role in regional and interregional dimensions of both TCDC and ECDC activities through the allocation of core funding.
AHMED ABOU ELGHEIT (Egypt), supporting the statement of the Group of 77 and China, said it was important that funding programmes for transit economies focus on the institutional mechanisms to mitigate the adverse consequences of structural adjustment programmes. Cooperation among countries of the South could not be considered a substitute for cooperation between the North and the South. Rather, the two were complementary.
He said that TCDC, whether triangular or with direct support of the developed countries or the United Nations system, should focus on such high priorities as the elimination of poverty, among others. It should receive its
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guidelines from the international system, starting with the relevant General Assembly resolutions, and with the Buenos Aires Plan of Action as the legal starting point.
HUSEN ADIWISASTRA (Indonesia), associating his delegation with the position of the Group of 77 and China, said that with the increasing reliance on unbridled market forces for economic growth, together with the retreat of multilateralism, South-South cooperation had become an indispensable complement to North-South development cooperation. Within that context, the follow-through and implementation of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action was more imperative than ever. The collective challenge for the eleventh session was to review progress or lack of it and to seek ways of overcoming constraints that continued to inhibit the promotion of TCDC.
He said the Committee was meeting against the backdrop of continuing globalization and global economic integration. But it was also meeting in the wake of the devastating global financial crisis that had first hit the Asian economies after the tenth session of the High-level Committee. Many other developing countries had been further marginalized and the gap between the developed and developing countries continued to widen. Against such profound changes, the imperative of collective self-reliance was more urgent than ever and the relevance of TCDC as strategic dimension of international cooperation was of increasing importance.
Indonesia was gratified that the role of the developed countries in the expansion of TCDC had shown signs of increasing, particularly through triangular cooperation, he said. More and more countries were accepting the rationale that it was far more constructive to assist developing countries to help themselves, thereby building their capacities to integrate into the global economy as productive members, rather than allowing them to be further marginalized or to risk their becoming acutely vulnerable to recurring financial crises.
SHAHID HUSAIN, the Representative of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, said considerable progress had been made in response to the strategic orientation covered in the New Directions. Two common handicaps to developing countries becoming active members in the TCDC process included a lack of an effective national focal point mechanism and the absence of explicit national policies for implementing TCDC programmes. The need for both promotional and operational support for TCDC was far from over.
During the period under review, considerable progress had been made in response to the strategic reorientation covered in the New Directions Strategy, he said. The Islamic Conference was at the forefront of progress in operationalizing the concept and practice of "pivotal countries": of 16 countries identified for a lead role in initiating and sponsoring TCDC programmes to benefit other countries, seven were Member or Observer States of
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the Conference. They, as others, needed the continued support of the United Nations system in pursuing the inclusion of TCDC modalities in the development process.
Mr. PLEHN-MEVIA, of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that at UNCTAD, ECDC/TCDC was promoted in the context of globalization and liberalization and the acute need for developing countries to integrate into the world economy in a balanced and speedy manner. As in the case of other cross-sectoral issues, ECDC/TCDC areas were integrated into the intergovernmental machinery of UNCTAD's work, which was mandated to ensure continuity, efficiency, coordination and oversight.
Examples of UNCTAD's role in the areas of international trade included development of a positive trade agenda and the interrelated issue of trade and environment, he said. In the field of investment, and in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), UNCTAD had promoted both South-South investment and investment policy review. In the area of enterprise development, UNCTAD promoted entrepreneurship in both individual countries and groups of countries. Other areas of UNCTAD activity related to TCDC included technical and economic cooperation in commodity trade and trade efficiency.
The UNCTAD was also involved in a joint programme with the UNDP on globalization, liberalization and sustainable development, he continued. The main objective was to enhance the ability of developing countries to manage their integration into the global economy in a manner supportive of sustainable development. At the global level, UNCTAD would develop a conceptual and operational framework to analyse the process of integrating developing and transition economies into the world economy. In that exercise, networks of academic institutions and business schools, as well as other civil society groups, would be organized to contribute to capacity-building.
ERDINE ERDUN, of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries, said the evolving dynamics of the global order had led to a significant agenda for effective action, especially in the developing countries, over and above the requirements dictated by an accelerated pace of development. However, only a few Organization of the Islamic Conference countries could capitalize on the increased globalization of economic relations brought about by the recent revolutions in the areas of technology, communications and information in order to achieve high levels of economic growth. The economic and technological differences within the Islamic Conference community had broadened, increasing the potential for expanded technical cooperation among Conference countries.
The past decade had seen a fundamental shift in development thinking, he continued. The traditional emphasis on economic planning and widespread governmental intervention in the development process had given way to an
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increased reliance on private-sector-led development and free-market solutions. There was an increased emphasis on a human-centred approach to development based on human resources development and the creation of sustainable institutional capacities. Technical cooperation had been recognized as an important factor in the development process. Technical assistance, originally conceived as a simple appendage to capital investment, had become accepted as a necessary complement to capital investment.
The Plan of Action to Strengthen Economic and Commercial Cooperation among the Member Countries of the Islamic Conference, adopted in 1994, listed 10 areas for cooperation, and technical cooperation was one, he said. Quality training and technical cooperation through closer cooperation between the UNDP and the Organization of the Islamic Conference was the shortest and most efficient way for the Conference countries to pool knowledge for their mutual benefit and to achieve national and collective self-reliance.
Ms. DURRANT (Jamaica), High-level Committee President, then gave the floor to the Director of the Special Unit to answer questions or make observations on contributions by delegations.
JOHN OHIORHENUAN, Director of the Special Unit for TCDC said it was important to put in place a more robust mechanism for capturing TCDC experiences in the countries themselves. Expectations that TCDC would continue to expand as long as it continued to prove its cost-effectiveness was both a vote of confidence and a challenge. To the extent that results might yield greater support, it was hoped that much more would be reported at the next meeting.
Regarding Norway's emphasis on the need to involve the private sector more, he said that with the assistance of Japan, UNCTAD and the World Bank, the Special Unit was working to support Africa-Asia cooperation.
LUIZ TUPY CALDAS DE MOURA (Brazil) asked about the coordinating role of the Economic and Social Council and the question of elaborating indicators for the review of progress in implementing the Buenos Aires Plan of Action.
Mr. OHIOREHNUAN said that at the broader level, there had been a great deal of effort within the United Nations system to develop indicators for measuring performance in development cooperation; the other level was monitoring and reporting on TCDC.
Ms. VARGAS (Costa Rica) said her country had been a pivotal country and had some contributions to make in the area of administration of justice.
NACEUR GHARBI (Tunisia) asked the Director for more details on the achievements of the Web of Information for Development system and its prospects for the future; about the role of consultancy in the promotion of
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TCDC; and about the programme of action for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development. He said the Special Unit should have the means to be a follow-up structure for the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, especially its South-South cooperation component.
Mr. OHIORHENUAN said with respect to the Web of Information for Development that the Special Unit had tried to place the system on an Internet platform. The idea was to use it as a venue where Southern experts could talk to each other, as well as to experts in the North, and where they could exchange ideas on an ongoing basis. It was hoped that the new WIDE system could be launched in a month.
Regarding a demonstration of the system, he said the new system was not fully operational.
He said consultancy was one of most important issues the Unit had had to deal with. When one looked at the database that WIDE would contain, there would be a large number of entries, and it would be unrealistic for people to provide consultancy. Consultancy in the old-fashioned sense was not the role that WIDE would play.
On the Tokyo Conference, he said follow-up regional workshops were expected to take place in West, Central, Southern and East Africa towards the end of the year.
Mr. PLEHN-MEVIA, representing UNCTAD, spoke on the Conference's assistance to developing countries in the field of electronic commerce.
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