IN STATEMENT TO SECOND COMMITTEE, UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR VIGOROUS EXPANSION OF SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION

Fifty-eighth General Assembly

Second Committee

17^th Meeting (PM)

IN STATEMENT TO SECOND COMMITTEE, UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR

VIGOROUS EXPANSION OF SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION

It’s a Boon to Developing Countries Pursuing Millennium Targets, He Says

South-South cooperation in health, trade, agriculture, infrastructure building, debt cancellation and technology sharing had been a boon for developing nations pursuing the Millennium Development Goals and should continue to be vigorously pursued and expanded, Under-Secretary-General Anwarul Chowdhury told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this afternoon.

As the Committee took up its agenda item on operational activities for development, focusing on economic and technical cooperation among developing countries, Mr. Chowdhury, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, said that through low-interest funds, joint ventures, increased market access, foreign direct investment (FDI), reduced transport costs and training in project planning and management, developing nations had joined forces to strengthen and diversity their economies.  More recently, they had extended their collaboration to education, women’s empowerment and population control.

With official development assistance (ODA) and trade and investment from donors unlikely to increase, better-endowed developing countries like Brazil, China, India and South Africa would continue to be instrumental, he said.  Developed countries must also do their part by assisting with human resource development as well as research and institutional capacity-building.

Cuba’s representative agreed, saying that greater financial resources and technical assistance from developed countries would advance the South-South cooperation agenda further.  The current global trade and economic system had widened the gap between rich and poor, forcing developing nations to work among themselves to meet challenges.  For example, Cuba, despite its limited resources, had reached out to other countries of the South, offering its services in health, sports and education.  Cuban primary-care doctors and health technicians were lending their services and technical know-how in rural areas throughout Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Nigeria’s representative said his country had joined the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Fast Track approach to integration and was actively promoting the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).  Through a technical cooperation fund, it had slashed loan interest rates from 4 per cent to 2 per cent.  Still, South-South trade was minimal.  In 2001, the lion’s share of Africa’s exports, 71 per cent, had gone to developed countries.  Of the remaining 29 per cent that had remained in the developing world, just 12 per cent had gone to sub-Saharan African countries.  Investment flows had followed a similar pattern, with developing countries receiving less than a third of total world investment in 2000.

Several speakers emphasized that stronger South-South cooperation could boost institutional infrastructures, public finance and administration, debt management and early warning and crisis prevention.  Others noted that regional integration could assist countries to attract FDI, reduce trade barriers and help small-scale economies to secure greater bargaining power.  With developing countries facing increasing difficulties in accessing developed markets, it was vital to strengthen subregional, regional and intraregional cooperation.

The Committee also heard the introduction of a report on the state of South-South cooperation by a representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Others addressing the Committee were the representatives of the Maldives, Canada, Singapore, Guyana, Norway, Bahrain, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Morocco (on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China), Italy (on behalf of the European Union), Zimbabwe, China, Kenya, Yemen, Algeria and Thailand.

Also making statements were representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The Second Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday 22 October, to conclude its consideration of operational activities for development and to take up macroeconomic policy questions as well as the report of the Economic and Social Council.

Background

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon to conclude its consideration of implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development; the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development; and environment and sustainable development.  It was also expected to take up operational activities for development, focusing on economic and technical cooperation among developing countries.

Before the Committee was a report of the Secretary-General on raising public awareness of and support for South-South cooperation (document A/58/345).  Prepared in coordination with the Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it says that the proposed United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation and International Decade for South-South Cooperation would present new opportunities to increase human and financial resources in the South to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

International decades declared by the General Assembly, the report states, have helped focus national, regional and international policy makers on issues of economic, social and political importance.  It recommends that the General Assembly consider declaring 12 September the annual day -- the date on which the Assembly endorsed the Buenos Aires Plan of Action on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries -- and 2005-2015 the international decade.

The Committee also had before it a report of the Secretary-General on the state of South-South cooperation (document A/58/319), which focuses on monetary, financial, investment and trade cooperation in 2001 and 2002, particularly in the context of regional and subregional integration in the South.  It notes the growing, yet uneven, participation of developing countries in North-South and South-South economic agreements and the increase in South-South and North-South trade as developing nations boost the export of manufactured goods.  Urgent measures are needed to boost the trading capacity of the least developed countries, whose share in global trade was a paltry 0.6 per cent in 2001.

Improved financial flows, strategic planning and effective conflict-resolution mechanisms could help the countries of the South meet the millennium targets, the report says.  It also briefly highlights the emergence of civil society and the private sector as significant players in South-South cooperation, calling this a welcome development that should be encouraged and strengthened in the future.

Statements

MOHAMEND LATHEEF (Maldives) said sustainable development and environmental protection were directly linked to his country’s very existence.  Climate change had caused widespread beach erosion and coral bleaching that threatened the tourism and fisheries industries, both mainstays of the national economy.  Salt water in groundwater aquifers was destroying vegetation and seriously impeding the survival of settlements.  While confronting those challenges was a top priority for the Maldives, the country’s ability, like that of other small island developing States, was limited.  A meaningful global partnership with shared responsibility and commitment was needed at the highest level to address those challenges.

He said the pledges made under the 1994 Barbados Programme of Action had not been delivered and expressed the hope that the 10-year review meeting in Mauritius next year would provide the impetus for the international community to renew its commitment to the Programme’s implementation.  It should also address the problems of small island developing States and consider special treatment for them as they suffered from inherent vulnerabilities and structural handicaps.

LOUIS SAINT-ARNAUD (Canada) said that achieving sustainable development remained a challenge for the international community.  The links between economic, social and environmental sustainability were universally acknowledged to be complex and vitally important, and work was still needed to integrate those pillars.  Nonetheless, with Agenda 21, the Millennium Development Goals and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, the international community now had an overall policy framework to advance sustainable development.

As part of its sustainable development activities, he said, Canada had more than doubled its annual funding for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and ratified the Kyoto Protocol in December 2002.  It would invest

$3 million in the Health and Environment Linkages Initiative launched at the Johannesburg Summit.  In addition, following up on its commitment to protecting biodiversity, Canada’s new Species at Risk Act had become law in December 2002.  The country had also created three new national parks and two new marine conservation areas and begun the Sustainable Cities Initiative, which would grow to more than 15 cities worldwide.

HENG AIK YEOW (Singapore) said that small island developing States were burdened by economic and environmental vulnerabilities, and their economies tended to be heavily dependent on a few select export commodities.  Those factors, coupled with scarce human resources, had put small island developing States in a precarious situation.  Low-lying and coastal parts of the islands were particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and global phenomena, including climate change and rising sea levels.  In addition to domestic efforts, they needed international support to achieve sustainable development.

Since the adoption of the Barbados Programme of Action, results had been mixed, he said, noting a shortfall in funding and a general lack of commitment among players to fulfil their end of the bargain.  With the benefit of hindsight, the international community should look for ways to further implement the Programme and ensure its applicability to present-day realities.

GARFIELD BARNWELL (Guyana) said his county’s national development strategy included key elements of Agenda 21 and the Barbados Programme of Action, focusing heavily on reducing poverty and unemployment and expanding the delivery of social services to all communities.  Programmes for conservation and sustainable use of natural resources had led to massive improvements in environmental considerations in the forestry, mining, agricultural and industrial sectors.  Guyana had taken seriously its commitments to international conventions and processes.  However, its efforts had not brought the needed results as the country was seriously constrained by limitations in human, material and financial resources.

He said the promises of the Barbados Declaration -– such as adequate, predictable new financial resources, the transfer of environmentally sound technology and the promotion of fair trading arrangements -- had hardly been kept. Instead, a double jeopardy had emerged for developing countries.  Very little of the new financial resources and transfer of environmentally sound technology had been received, while the meagre resources generated were dwindling under trading arrangements that were the opposite of fair.

JOHAN L. LOVALD (Norway), recalling that ministers had agreed at Johannesburg to honour commitments already made, and to new time-bound targets on water resources management and sanitation, noted that efforts must be intensified if the agreed goals and targets were to be met.  It was the priority of the Norwegian chairmanship of the Commission on Sustainable Development to uphold the political momentum from Johannesburg, particularly in the areas of water, sanitation and human settlements.  Progress in those areas would help in meeting goals in such areas as health, education, gender equality and biodiversity, which, in turn, would contribute to the overarching goal of poverty eradication.

He said the new format for the Commission’s work was an opportunity to revitalize its role as the high-level body for political dialogue on sustainable development.  With only three main topics on its 2004-2005 agenda, it was expected that the Commission would become more focused and solution-oriented.  The involvement of a broad range of ministers was crucial, particularly ministers responsible for water, sanitation, human settlements, international development and finance.

The 1990s had seen a steady decline in levels of official development assistance (ODA), he said.  It was essential that all States live up to their commitments made at Johannesburg and Monterrey.  The Government of Norway had pledged to increase its ODA to 1 per cent of gross national income by 2005.  However, governments must give priority to investment in human resources, policies that reduced poverty and promoted human rights, democracy and local participation in decision-making.  There was also a need for a strong and competent United Nations system to cooperate with national and international partners for sustainable development.

DIRK TROOST, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said UNESCO projects to assist small island developing States focused on the fields of culture, natural sciences, social sciences, communication and education.  The UNESCO was currently reviewing its small island developing States activities over the past decade, but more must be done than compile information on activities already done.  Instead, there was a need to advance forward-looking discussions.  In that respect, the organization had had prepared a short discussion document -- Small Islands, Looking Forward beyond 2004.

In contributing to a new vision for small island developing States, he said, UNESCO’s own action would continue to be rooted in the fields of culture, science communication and education.  Special attention would be given to intersectoral, interregional and intergenerational activities.  The involvement of youth was likely to prove vital in the future development of small island developing States.

AL SAIE (Bahrain) said poverty eradication was the key to achieving sustainable development and carrying out the objectives of the Millennium Summit and Agenda 21.  The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development brought awareness to the need to improve education worldwide.  Greater financing, as well as greater coordination with competent educational non-government organizations, was necessary to achieve the millennium target of universal primary education by 2015.

She said Bahrain was doing its part to further education, noting that the country sponsored many fellowship and scholarship programmes.  Bahrain had also ratified international protocols and conventions on education and had taken part in regional and international education conferences and seminars.

LUIS DE MATOS MONTEIRO DA FONSECA (Cape Verde), while congratulating the United Nations for its central role in increasing awareness of the special problems of small island developing States, noted that, in addition to recognizing a special category of countries, it was necessary to provide that group with a minimum amount of preferential treatment.  That had not been provided, and international attention to small island developing States left much to be desired.  It was hoped that after three decades of support for small island developing States, the Barbados + 10 Conference would be a landmark event in furthering their development.  In particular, such States needed their preferential market access preserved, not eroded.  Permanent handicaps, such as those of small islands, justified permanent responses.

RAHEL KUMELA (Ethiopia) noted that the focus on Agenda 21 and the outcome of the Johannesburg Summit was gradually shifting to implementation.  The expressed determination of the Economic and Social Council to finalize prior to its 2004 substantive session a list of cross-sectoral thematic issues and a multi-year work programme for its coordination segment would enhance the Council’s role as a central mechanism to review and coordinate the implementation of major United Nations conferences.

Sustainable development had eluded many African countries, she said.  The Commission on Sustainable Development would review that as a cross-cutting theme during all of its two-year cycles.  That would guarantee that Africa’s special needs as they related to water, sanitation and human settlements were addressed.  Ethiopia called for an increase in funds for the first regional implementation meeting of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), to be held in December in Addis Ababa.

ANDRIY NIKITOV (Ukraine) said that sustained economic growth was an important prerequisite to achieving the Millennium Goals.  Ukraine had made considerable economic progress, with its gross domestic product (GDP) projected to grow by about 5 per cent in 2003, thus marking the fourth consecutive year of economic growth.  Efforts were under way to galvanize that trend and make such growth irreversible.  Sound macroeconomic policies contributed greatly to improved social development and environmental performance.

He said the prospects for meeting sustainable development goals were linked to the external economic environment.  Expanded trade opportunities and increased access to world markets could be significant resource windfalls.  Addressing the debt problem of developing and transition countries could also play a vital role in mustering the resources for strengthening national capacity and facilitating sustainable development.

AXUMITE GEBRE-EGZIABHER, Director, New York Office, United Nations Centre for Human Settlement (UN-HABITAT), said the agency had developed a capacity-building programme in response to Chapter 28 of Agenda 21, whereby local authorities were called upon to undertake consultative processes to develop and implement “Local Agendas 21”.  The programme offered multi-year support in selected priority towns in Kenya, Morocco and Viet Nam, and aimed to promote good urban governance by supporting the development and implementation of broad-based environmental action plans.

She said UN-HABITAT was also working hard to implement its mandate as part of the outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, particularly in the areas of water and sanitation.  There was now a better understanding of the key urban governance issues affecting the delivery and performance of urban basic services, and the importance of decentralizing government functions to local levels had also been recognized.  Priority should now shift to mainstreaming those concepts into national policies and legislation.  The UN-HABITAT had established a Water, Sanitation and Infrastructure Branch in order to rise to the challenge of meeting the Johannesburg Summit’s water and sanitation targets.  A Water and Sanitation Trust Fund had been created to provide quick disbursement of funds.

The Committee then turned to its item on operational activities for development, focusing on economic and technical cooperation among developing countries.

Introductory Statement

ANWARUL CHOWDHURY, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, noted that areas of cooperation among developing countries ranged from health, trade, and agriculture to infrastructure building, debt cancellation and the sharing of technology.  Successful examples of South-South cooperation included low-interest funds, joint ventures, increased market access, foreign direct investment (FDI), reduced transport costs, and training in project planning and management.  In recent years, those areas had extended to such social areas as health, education, women’s empowerment and population.

While obtaining increased development assistance, attracting trade and investment from donors had continued to be difficult, he said, noting that the potential for South-South cooperation in those and other areas must be vigorously explored.  The role of such better-endowed developing countries as Brazil, China, India and South Africa would continue to be a major determinant in that direction, while triangular arrangements involving donors were practical for vulnerable countries.  The support of developed countries in promoting South-South cooperation in areas like human resource development, research and institutional capacity-building must be further encouraged.

Introduction of Reports

FRANÇOIS EKOKO, Senior Policy Adviser, Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, UNDP, introduced the report of the thirteenth session of the High-Level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (document A/58/39), a report of the Secretary-General on raising public awareness of and support for South-South cooperation (document A/58/345), and the Secretary-General’s report on the state of South-South cooperation (document A/58/319).

The reports highlighted, among other things, the need to scale up assistance from the more advanced developing countries to the least developed, greater efforts to build developing countries’ information bases and technological capacities, increased monetary and financial cooperation in the South, and urgent measures to boost the trading capacity of the least developed countries.

HASSAN ABOUTAHIR (Morocco), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said the financing of South-South cooperation had been a persistent problem over the past 25 years.  Appropriate means must be found to effectively tap resources from various international organizations and financial institutions to support South-South cooperation, and a common strategy outlined to foster international support for regional and subregional economic cooperation.  The new vision for South-South cooperation could also stimulate more concrete responses to the specific development needs of developing countries.

While South-South cooperation needed greater momentum, the international community should fully assess the potential of projects, so that they did not harm the very cause they sought to promote, he said.  South-South cooperation projects must provide mutual benefits to developing countries and should be economically viable.  With increasing complementarities among developing countries, enhancing technical cooperation was more urgent than ever.  The main focus for intensifying South-South cooperation centred on the Buenos Aires Plan of Action and the Havana Programme of Action.

ANTONIO BERNARDINI (Italy), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that closer cooperation between the United Nations and the Union in the area of development would contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, through substantial improvements in the effectiveness of development assistance.  Support for South-South cooperation also ranked high in that regard, as had been emphasized at several major United Nations meetings and conferences.

He said that reinforced cooperation among developing countries could provide essential support for development in such areas as institutional infrastructure, human resource development, public finance and administration, debt management, and early warning and crisis prevention.  The critical role of regional integration among developing countries could enhance efficiency, attract FDI, reduce trade barriers and enable small-scale economies to secure greater bargaining power.

The European Union had demonstrated its support for South-South cooperation through its substantial and increased support for operational activities, including activities in the United Nations system, he said.  However, the main responsibility for enhanced and more effective cooperation among developing countries lay with the developing countries themselves.  The European Union welcomed the High-Level Conference on South-South Cooperation to be held at Marrakech, Morocco, in December.

B.G. CHIDYAUSIKU (Zimbabwe), speaking in his capacity as President of the Bureau for the High-Level Committee on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, said the Bureau was continuing its work with the UNDP and the Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries to rationalize and prioritize follow-up actions on South-South cooperation.  South-South cooperation could be a viable complement to the traditional North-South cooperation. 

That South-South process required greater financial commitments by developing countries themselves, he said.  A few countries had pledged resources already to the UNDP Administrator’s Trust Fund for South-South Cooperation, he said, urging more countries to come forward.  The pool of funds could be channelled to strategic activities prioritized by the General Assembly.  All countries could benefit from South-South cooperation. 

TINGRONG GONG (China) stressed the importance of strengthening efforts to increase worldwide public awareness of South-South cooperation and of providing the financial resources for such cooperation.  He then outlined his country’s efforts in that respect, and called for the strengthening of the mandate of the UNDP.

NADIESKA NAVARRO BARRO (Cuba) said that since the 1998 adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, the world had faced many complex challenges.  The current global trade and economic system, which impeded social and economic development in the South, had widened the gap between rich and poor, forcing developing nations to work among themselves to meet those challenges.  The United Nations played an important role in promoting South-South cooperation, thus promoting unity and integration among nations of the South.  Even more could be done if developed countries offered greater financial resources and technical assistance.

Despite its limited resources, Cuba had reached out to other countries of the South, she said.  Cuban collaborators offered their services in 103 countries in the fields of health, sports and education.  Since 1998, Cuba’s Integral Health Programme had sent primary-care doctors and health technicians to rural areas in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean to lend their services, train local doctors in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and to provide technical assistance.

Mr. KENYORU (Kenya) said the twin processes of globalization and economic liberalization had made South-South cooperation vital, both as a development strategy and as a means to integrate developing countries into the new global order.  Developing countries must generate new ideas to take full advantage of the potential of South-South cooperation against a backdrop of international economic change.  More intensive collaboration and information-sharing should be encouraged to enhance new links of mutual benefit among developing countries.

Regional and subregional integration contributed significantly to South-South cooperation, he said.  Regional economic cooperation and integration promoted wider economic opportunities and economies of scale.  Developing countries were finding it increasingly difficult to access the markets of developed countries, and it was necessary to strengthen subregional, regional and intraregional cooperation.

AHMED AL-HADDAD (Yemen) said that technical cooperation among developing countries had historically strengthened their economies.  The recent Havana Summit, the Dubai Conference on Science and Technology and other conferences had furthered that agenda.  Nevertheless, the international community must make greater efforts to expand technical cooperation.  The upcoming conference at Marrakech would provide them an opportunity to do so.  The South had turned to the North to enhance joint action on technical cooperation, but the North’s response had been lukewarm, particularly concerning its shortfall in commitments of ODA.

The potential of South-South cooperation had yet to be fully exploited, he said.  Most advanced countries in the South had a responsibility to focus greatly on that area.  United Nations main bodies, regional commissions and specialized agencies must redouble their efforts.  The UNDP had played an important role in expanding the partnerships covering a variety of programmes.  The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) had also contributed in information development.  Yemen supported the proposed international decade on South-South cooperation.

DJIHED EDDINE BELKAS (Algeria) said cooperation had extended over the past two years due to the interest generated at the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting at Doha, the Monterrey Conference, the Johannesburg Summit and the 2000 Brussels Conference on Least Developed Countries.  South-South cooperation had inspired recent North-South and South-South initiatives at all levels.

He welcomed efforts by United Nations bodies to integrate their programmes and operational activities for development, and the support they had given to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).  South-South cooperation needed both bilateral and multilateral support from the international community.

SCOTT OMENE (Nigeria) said his country was contributing to South-South cooperation efforts at the subregional level through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Fast Track approach to integration and at the regional level through its active involvement in and promotion of NEPAD.  Nigeria had set up joint commissions with many developing countries to share technical know-how and experiences.  The 2001 creation of the Nigeria Technical Cooperation Fund administered by the African Development Bank and the corresponding reduction in loan interest rates from 4 per cent to 2 per cent was a good example of Nigeria’s commitment to South-South cooperation.

Greater attention must be paid to promoting trade among developing countries, he said.  As indicated in the Secretary-General’s reports, aggregate exports from developing countries had accounted for 31.5 per cent of world exports in 2001.  That year, the lion’s share of Africa’s exports, 71 per cent, had gone to developed countries.  Of the 29 per cent that had gone to the developing world, just 12 per cent had stayed within sub-Saharan Africa.  Investment flows had followed a similar pattern, with developing countries receiving less than one third of total world investment in 2000.  Of that one-third share, 70 per cent had gone to five countries.  The success of South-South cooperation depended on support from the public, private sector and civil society organizations, as well as greater public awareness.  Nigeria supported the proposed 2005-2015 International Decade on South-South Cooperation and 12 September as an annual United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation.

PRAVIT CHAIMONGKOL (Thailand) noted that globalization had made developing countries more vulnerable to the growing volatility in the global economic situation and encouraged the United Nations system to assist developing countries in monetary and financial cooperation.  To promote regional financial development and cooperation, Thailand and many Asian countries had participated actively in the Asian Bond Market Development Initiative.  The Asian Bond Fund had been launched in Bangkok in June 2003, with a starting capital of $1 billion.  It was hoped that the initiative would provide an alternative source of investment for partners beyond Asia and contribute to the stability of world financial markets.

IRENE FREUDENSCHUSS-REICHL, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), said the agency had carried out technical cooperation projects funded by multilateral mechanisms and regional programmes.  They had involved strengthening and enhancing industrial capacities; increasing and improving communications and information networks; improving the capacity to absorb, adapt and diffuse technology and skills; and introducing environmental standards and norms in the productive sector.

She said that enhanced South-South subregional, regional and interregional cooperation were vital for the promotion of sustainable industrial development.  Such cooperation built bridges between and among individuals and enterprises in developing countries by strengthening their access to business networks and promoting inter-enterprise cooperation, subcontracting arrangements, clustering, networking and technology promotion schemes.  It also helped attract domestic and foreign investment for productive capacity-building and modernization, increasing manufacturing competitiveness.

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