19th NAM Summit and the Third South Summit: Leveraging the Potential of South-South and Triangular Cooperation for the Decade of Action
20 January 2024
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,
Good afternoon. It is a joy to stand before you today at this important event on South-South cooperation, co-organized by our friends at the Islamic Development Bank, the South Centre, and UNOSSC, in the vibrant city of Kampala. Allow me to say that this event is South-South Cooperation in action, as all our institutions represent the Global South in a major way.
Opportunities and synergies South-South valuable contribution to the SDGs best practices.
UNCTAD has always been a strong advocate of South-South cooperation. Back in 1964, the UN Conference on Trade and Development was established with an explicit mandate to support economic development in the Global South and push for a more just and rational international economic order; to achieve that, our institution was created to provide a forum where the South could meet with itself. It is therefore no coincidence that the G77 was founded during the first UNCTAD conference. This year is our sixtieth anniversary. The transformation of the South during those years has been tremendous; and I can only imagine the possibilities for the next sixty years.
We are now in a watershed moment. The contribution of the global south to world GDP was about 19 percent in 1990 – today, it is around 42 percent, and will probably reach over 50 percent before the end of the decade. In trade, the story is even more dramatic. In the late 19th century, North-North trade represented around 80 percent of all global trade; and even by the early 1990s, one hundred years later, that figure was around 60 percent of all global trade. Today, barely thirty years later, that figure stands at 25 percent.
This means that for the first time since the advent of colonialism and industrialization, South-South trade now dominates world trade. According to the most recent calculations, South-South trade represents 35 percent of all world trade, ten percentage points more than North-North trade (the rest is in South-North and North-South trade).
In this era of rapid technological advancement, South-South Cooperation is uniquely positioned to foster digital innovation. By sharing knowledge, experiences, good practices, and resources in the field of digital technology, countries of the Global South can leapfrog traditional stages of development, creating a more inclusive digital economy.
Here lies the beauty of South-South cooperation. If a country like Bolivia wants to learn about digital-led development, it has much more to learn from a country like India, which has leapfrogged in this area in the last decade, than from other countries started from a higher base.
If we really want to meet the SDGs in this decade of action, the only option we have is to leap-frog our way to 2030. But to learn how to leap, it is better to ask the frog, than the old wise owl. And the frogs are in the Global South.
Your excellencies, dear friends,
UNCTAD is fully committed to continue cooperating with its international partners in this crucial area of South-South Cooperation. I am particularly happy to be here today to discuss this joint publication with the IsDB, the South Centre, and the UNOSSC, and look forward to more contributions in the future.
In closing, let us remember that cooperation is not just about sharing resources, but also about sharing visions and aspirations. The South has a unique perspective, one born out of a shared history of overcoming obstacles and seizing opportunities. The leap towards a sustainable future is not just a metaphor. It is a practical strategy, one that acknowledges the realities of our time but also the potential of the technologies of our time.
So, in the spirit of South-South Cooperation let us leap towards a future where every nation, no matter its size or wealth, has a voice and a place at the table of global development. Together, we can transform the landscape of international cooperation and chart a course towards a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous world.
Thank you.
