South-South cooperation is a broad framework for collaboration among countries of the South in the political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and technical domains. It is managed by developing countries themselves, with active participation from Governments, public and private sector actors, academia and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) among others.

Historical context

Commitment to collective development, the promotion of human freedom, opposition to colonialism and the creation of equitable conditions for the peaceful  and harmonious socioeconomic development of all countries have been key to the genesis and evolution of South-South cooperation. Thus, historically, South-South cooperation has been characterized by in-kind partnership and building on common development needs, perspectives and approaches.

Once largely confined to capacity-building, South-South cooperation is now being enriched by an array of different approaches, along with diverse regional dynamics and perspectives.

During the Asia-Africa Conference, held in Bandung, Indonesia, from 18  to 24 April 1955, Southern leaders called for structural changes in the world economic order and expressed their willingness to form partnerships to gain more bargaining power on the global stage. A few years later, the establishment of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries in 1961 provided an impetus for cooperation among developing countries. The launch of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 1964 helped to further consolidate that process.

In 1964, the Group of 77 was established to advance the collective economic interests of developing countries and to create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity, including through South-South cooperation. Having since expanded to 134 Member States, the Group of 77 has emerged as a unique platform to advance South-South cooperation.

During the 1960s and 1970s, several decisions were taken at the United Nations regarding development in newly independent countries, with the collective aim of achieving self-reliance, economic independence and stronger linkages between the South and the global economy. In pressing for that greater level of autonomy, the Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order was also adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1974 (see Assembly resolution S-6/3201).

The Buenos Aires Plan of Action, endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 33/134 of 19 December 1978, articulated the basic principles of interaction and collaboration between countries, including respect for national sovereignty, non-interference in domestic affairs and equal rights. It has also guided developing countries towards strengthening innovative mechanisms to build legal and institutional frameworks, and financing mechanisms at the national, bilateral, regional and multilateral levels.

It is important to note that, by the 1970s, developing countries had already identified national interests in trade and investment linked to their collective development priorities. Complementarities in skills and resources were, therefore, identified as practical modalities for deepening these linkages. The Buenos Aires Plan of Action responded to those needs by proposing the creation of a platform for economic cooperation among developing countries and another platform for technical cooperation among developing countries.

In the Ministerial Declaration of the Group of 77 ( A/49/462, annex), adopted on 30 September 1994, the ministers for foreign affairs of Group of 77 member States called upon the United Nations to consider convening an international conference on South-South cooperation.

Participants in the South Summit, held in Havana from 10 to 14 April 2000, adopted the Declaration of the South Summit, in which the countries of the South expressed their conviction that South-South cooperation was, as a complement to North-South cooperation, an effective instrument for optimizing their potential to promote development through, among other things, the mobilization and sharing of existing resources and expertise. The same conviction was reiterated in the Doha Declaration, adopted at the Second South Summit, held in Doha, from 12 to 16 June 2005, in which the countries of the South called for a more energetic effort to deepen and revitalize South-South cooperation to take advantage of the new geography of international economic relations.

The first High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation, held in Nairobi from 1 to 3 December 2009 to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, centred on the theme “Promotion of South-South cooperation for development”.

In the Nairobi outcome document of the High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (General Assembly resolution 64/222, annex), Member States emphasized that South-South cooperation was a manifestation of solidarity among peoples and countries of the South that contributed to their national well-being, their national and collective self-reliance and the attainment of internationally agreed development goals. It was also highlighted therein that South-South cooperation and its agenda had to be set by countries of the South and should continue to be guided by the principles of respect for national sovereignty, national ownership and independence, equality, non-conditionality, non-interference in domestic affairs and mutual benefit. A series of measures to reinvigorate the United Nations development system in supporting and promoting South-South cooperation were also set out therein.

Comparative advantages of South-South and triangular cooperation

For many actors involved in South-South cooperation, its main comparative advantage lies in its ability to address the development challenges of Southern countries through an emphasis on shared values within similar development contexts on the basis of mutual interest and understanding. South-South cooperation facilitates a horizontal relationship in which cooperation is built as a partnership between equals.

South-South cooperation is a participatory process that promotes the creation of functional development solutions under similar cultural and social circumstances, reflects convergent political and strategic interests and taps locally available capacities and assets.

South-South Cooperation is complementary to, and not a substitute for, the responsibilities and capabilities of donor countries. Hence, this modality of cooperation complements and accompanies the efforts of the countries themselves in order to overcome the structural challenges of development in specific areas.

South-South cooperation favours ownership by Southern countries, since contexts and social difficulties and challenges are, in most cases, similar and shared among South-South partners. Connected by similar settings and challenges, the nations of the South are open to cooperating with each other on knowledge -sharing and technology exchange activities, on common technical training programmes and in taking collective action. Consequently, South-South cooperation aims to promote national and collective self-reliance and independence and to reinforce political and cooperative relationships.

South-South cooperation allows countries to play an important role as facilitators of cooperation in many different areas, such as institutional strengthening, health, gender equality, climate change, food safety, scientific and technological innovation, infrastructure, trade, finance and investment, and regional integration.

South-South cooperation promotes mechanisms for horizontal governance and decision-making. It is a flexible modality for managing and implementing projects and initiatives on demand, with a clear definition of roles and shared responsibilities.

South-South cooperation enables developing countries to play a more active role in international policy and decision-making processes, in support of their efforts to achieve sustainable development.

South-South cooperation is generally more cost-effective than other modalities of cooperation. It is a vehicle for developing countries to support each other without the need to use a large amount of resources, yet has the potential to have a great impact.

Given its comparative advantages, South-South cooperation brings new impetus and an innovative character to cooperation between developing countries since it helps to mobilize alternative financial resources.

The comparative advantages of triangular cooperation include: establishing linkages with different partners without the need for negotiating complicated treaties or agreements; making good use of the comparative advantages of different modalities of and actors in development cooperation; and mitigating the lack of coordination between major development cooperation modalities.

It is worth noting that triangular cooperation offers opportunities to explore synergies and complementarities between diverse actors and to strengthen the ownership of partners in joint activities.

Triangular cooperation is a tool that allows traditional donors and other partners to join South-South initiatives. It is also an alternative way to leverage resources and to involve those actors in technical capacity-building initiatives. Therefore, it represents an opportunity to enhance South-South cooperation through the provision of financial and technical support.

In triangular cooperation, all countries can be providers, facilitators and beneficiaries of knowledge-sharing. Thus, it is a modality of partnership that can help to transcend traditional divides between different types of cooperation.

Triangular cooperation can open up new opportunities for cooperation, offering a mix of funding and knowledge that would not otherwise be available. The Southern partners gain skills and experience and build their capabilities as new providers of development cooperation. All partners can learn and benefit from triangular cooperation.

This policy document is extracted from the UN Secretary-General report Role of South-South cooperation and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Challenges and opportunities