High-level Committee on Review of TCDC

12^th Session

5^th Meeting (PM)

REVIEW COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL COOPERATION AMONG DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

CONCLUDES TWELFTH SESSION

South-South Cooperation Stressed

As 'Self-Help Strategy' To Achieve Development Goals

The deliberations of the twelfth session of the High-level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries had suggested that for developing countries and their partners, South-South cooperation represented a self-help strategy to achieve development goals, the Committee’s Chairman stated this afternoon.

In his closing remarks, Alounkeo Kittikhoun (Lao People’s Democratic Republic) also thanked the Bureau and all delegations for their contributions to the current session. In addition, he expressed his appreciation to the Secretariat for preparing the documentation, which painted a clear picture of what those in the South were doing to improve their conditions, and applauded the commitment of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to bring new models of South-South cooperation to the forefront of international cooperation.

The Committee approved, without a vote, a draft decision (document TCDC/12/L.4/Rev.2), which contained two parts.  Part A was on the review of progress made in implementing the Buenos Aires Plan of Action and the decisions of the Committee.  By its terms, the Committee called on the international community to provide support, including through technical cooperation among developing countries (TCDC), to strengthen the efforts of developing countries, particularly the least developed countries (LDCs), in responding effectively to the challenges resulting from globalization, and to enable them to fully integrate into the global economic system, so as to benefit from international trade and investment.

The Committee also called on the Special Unit for TCDC, in collaboration with the United Nations system and countries concerned, to promote the use of southern research and development capacities for increased agricultural productivity, especially in the areas of agro-based industry, aimed at improving food security, job creation and income generation.

By the terms of Part B of the decision, on the review of progress made in the implementation of the New Directions Strategy for TCDC, the Committee urged developed and developing countries and the United Nations system to intensify their efforts to support South-South initiatives designed to benefit especially the LDCs, landlocked developing countries, transit developing countries and small island developing States, with a view to expanding their intra-trade and intra-

investment opportunities, and achieving sustainable development and more equitable integration into the global economy. 

Also without a vote, the Committee approved a draft decision on the overall framework for the promotion and application of TCDC (document TCDC/12/L.5/Rev.2).  In doing so, the Committee decided to review the revised Guidelines for the Review of Policies and Procedures concerning TCDC, as approved by the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), and the common results framework at its thirteenth session in the year 2003.

The Committee also called on the UNDP and other parts of the United Nations development system to intensify TCDC mainstreaming efforts, by using national planning mechanisms, as well as relevant agreed regional and international mechanisms. 

Further, the Committee underscored the need to ensure an effective role of the Special Unit as the substantive Secretariat of the Committee and as the United Nations system Coordinator for TCDC, as well as the focal point in the system for South-South cooperation. 

To that effect, the Committee requested the UNDP Administrator to ensure that the separate identity of the Special Unit was maintained, and decided to periodically review its impact and functioning in supporting, promoting and coordinating TCDC cooperation on a global and system-wide basis.

In addition, the Committee reiterated the need for increasing core resources of the UNDP, which would also raise the volume of resources available for the Special Unit for promoting TCDC activities.

Zephirin Diabre, the UNDP Associate Administrator, said that in choosing South-South cooperation in science and technology as its central theme, the Committee’s twelfth session had opened a new chapter, where it became not only a review process, but a meeting of great minds to chart the course of South-South cooperation on the basis of new thinking, new partnerships and new knowledge.

He noted that consensus emerged during the Committee’s deliberations on areas where South-South cooperation was sure to make a difference in people’s lives.  The importance of South-South initiatives in building information and communication technology infrastructures, computer skills and favourable policies was well articulated, and the UNDP looked forward to working with delegations in attaining those goals. 

He was also pleased to note that many delegations agreed that South-South cooperation was a “big tent” with room for developed countries and their various agencies to form triangular partnerships with partners in the South.  With other members of the United Nations family, the UNDP would continue to encourage those partnerships, which were crucial to fostering research and development, building information and communication technology infrastructures, and in strengthening networking arrangements among various institutions and centres of excellence in the South.

Also this afternoon, the Committee approved the report of its current session, which was presented by its Rapporteur, Jean Maxime Murat (Haiti).  In

addition, the Committee approved the provisional agenda for its thirteenth session, contained in document TCDC/12/L.9, as orally revised.

The Vice-Chairman of the Committee and Chairman of the Working Group, Percy Metsing Mangoaela (Lesotho), presented the report of the Group.  The Committee’s other Vice-Chairman was Fabio Cassese (Italy).

The representative of Uruguay said that he had hoped for a richer debate during the session.  Thus, his delegation had prepared a declaration, available in Spanish, regarding its position on technical cooperation.  Strengthening the capacities of developing countries should be a crucial concern for the rest of the world, particularly the developed countries.  In light of the clear trend of decreasing resources for development, he hoped that next year’s Conference on Financing for Development would be able to establish guidelines for a new kind of financing.

Closing remarks were also made by the representative of Iran (on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China), Sudan, and Sweden (on behalf of the European Union).  The representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) also spoke.

During its four-day session, the Committee reviewed progress made in implementing the Buenos Aires Plan of Action adopted at the 1978 United Nations Conference on TCDC in Argentina, following which the High-level Committee was established by General Assembly resolution 33/134.

The Committee's role is to make recommendations on measures for implementing the Buenos Aires Plan of Action and to monitor all TCDC activities of the United Nations system.  The application of TCDC is considered to be primarily the responsibility of developing countries, with the United Nations development system acting as facilitator and catalyst.  All United Nations Member States and specialized agencies are represented in the High-level Committee, while representatives of United Nations intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations attend as observers.

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