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Tuesday, February 4, 2014

South–South Cooperation: A Survey of Recent Trends; Vivan Sharan and Prashant Kumar, December, 2013

South–South cooperation can be traced back to the Bandung Conference of 1955. The
conference was held at a critical period in global transition as post–war movements were Staking shape in Asia and Africa. It was clear from the outset that development assistance,
technical cooperation and integration through trade and investment were to be pillars of economic
cooperation within the South–South framework. Thus cooperation was never circumscribed by a
donor–recipient construct, traditionally associated with North–South cooperation.

These concepts were further advanced by the Group of 77 (G-77), established in 1964 by seventy
seven developing countries at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The distinctive feature of the G-77 is the emphasis on unity
and solidarity within the group of developing countries. From the first declaration of the G-77 in
Geneva, it is clear that South–South cooperation arises from a historical background which places
emphasis on shared prosperity through economic development.

Therefore any evaluation of South–South Cooperation must encompass the areas of trade,
investment and aid. This brief highlights the role for South–South cooperation in the 21st century
and does so by comparing North–South and South–South flows. One of the recurring themes here
is the fundamental change that has taken place in the global economy since the Global Financial
Crisis, which in turn has profound implications for each of the areas analysed. The share of developed countries' collective GDP as a proportion of global GDP has slipped from close to 80
per cent in 1990 to about 60 per cent in 2012. This brief emphasises that the crisis has helped to
reinforce similar macro trends within trade, investment and aid.
Read More: http://orfonline.org/cms/export/orfonline/modules/issuebrief/attachments/issuebrief65_1388636496297.pdf

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