SSC leader highlights technology gap between developed nations, Global South

Francis Lorenzo, president of the United Nations' International Organization for South-South Cooperation.（UN）

Under the theme of “ICT, Innovation, Culture and Sustainable urbanization, the Annual Forum on South-South Cooperation for Sustainable Development 2013 focuses on how to spur ICT innovations in the cultural and urban environment of the South with a view to advancing sustainable development and urbanization, within the framework of South-South Cooperation(SSC).

Before the commencement of the forum, the Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Daily (APD) had an interview with Francis Lorenzo, president of the United Nations’ International Organization for South-South Cooperation (IOSSC), who talked about the current development of SSC as well as his expectations over the upcoming event.

APD: To start with, please tell us briefly the purposes of the forthcoming forum and the UN’s role in SSC.

Lorenzo: In 1974, the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 3251, endorsed “the establishment of a special unit within the United Nations Development Program to promote technical co-operation among developing countries. With this, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation was established. Since then the United Nations has been promoting technical, financial and political cooperation among the countries of the Global South.

It was during the High-Level Segment of the 67th session of the General Assembly that the high level participants highlighted the importance of ICT as a tool for sustainable development, and supported the recommendation that an “International e-Government Training Center be created as an international organization for countries of the Global South to promote capacity-building and provide a platform for access to investment opportunities and training and as an incubator for new and innovative technologies for sustainable development.

The International Organization for South-South Cooperation (IOSSC) was then recommended to serve as a facilitator for follow-up action on this recommendation by bringing together key stakeholders from governments, the private sector, international organizations and civil society/academia in a partnership with a view to agreeing on the conceptual framework and organizational structure of the Center, as a powerful new platform for South-South cooperation to spur ICT innovations and generate investment opportunities and job creation by assisting developing countries, small businesses and entrepreneurs with access to appropriate technologies, skills training and international investors and markets.

APD: As the backbones of SSC,what do you expect the developing countries to do for the South-South cooperation?

Lorenzo: South-South cooperation, as an important element of international cooperation for development, offers viable opportunities for developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their individual and collective pursuit of sustained economic growth and sustainable development.

Developing countries have the primary responsibility for promoting and implementing SSC, not as a substitute for but rather as a complement to North-South cooperation (cooperation between developed and developing nations), and in this context reiterating the need for the international community to support the efforts of the developing countries to expand SSC.

APD: What do you think the developed countries could do for the enhancement of SSC?

Lorenzo: Given the centrality of technology to development, and the necessity of technology acquisition by developing countries as a means of furthering development, it is desirable that such countries should be able to benefit from the generation, transfer and diffusion of the best available technology.

Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. In particular, the fact that most of the world’s advanced technologies are generated privately by transnational corporations (TNCs), whose principal research and development (R&D) activities are located in developed countries, creates an asymmetry between technology possession and the location of technological need. The result is a gap between the technologies developed and owned by firms in developed countries, and the ones which can be obtained and utilized by developing countries.

APD: On the other hand, how can the emerging economies more actively participate in SSC?

Lorenzo: Emerging economies, notably China and India, are grabbing headlines as growing financial powers that are substantially increasing their investments in Africa and Asia. Justifiably so, together the two countries account for one-fifth of the global economy and are projected to represent a full third of the world’s income by 2025. While the financial crisis still casts a shadow over many countries, India’s trade with Africa has jumped to $40bn in the past few years. In addition, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimated that, between 1996 and 2006, developing economies provided more than $17bn of foreign investment in Africa and $27bn of investment in Asia.

Combine this with the rise in south-south trade and investment flows and the shift from the G8 to the G20 as the primary forum to tackle global economic issues, clearly there is more to SSC than it simply being a driver for developing countries to share and learn from the practical experience of others.

APD: To be more specific, what is China’s role in SSC? What do you expect China to do in the future?

Lorenzo: The first decade of the new millennium was marked by China’s emergence as a major player in the global economy as it overtook Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy after the United States. Although trade and investment are two central means by which China engages economically with developing countries, China has also become a significant provider of South-South cooperation in Asia, Latin America and especially in Africa. In many least-developed countries (LDCs), China is now believed to be the major source of aid, trade and investment.

Chinese aid is very much integrated with trade and investment. Aid is often delivered as part of a larger package of investments and trade deals, blended with much larger non-concessional loans and export credits. Nonetheless, a significant proportion of China’s aid activities – such as in the areas of transport, power and telecommunications – appears to fall within the scope of UNCTAD’S Aid for Trade Initiative. Trade-related activities have long been an integral part of China’s aid program (WTO, 2009: 76). The Tanzania-Zambia Railway project is a good example of China’s long tradition of providing trade-related assistance. Chinese authorities believe that promotion of trade is not an end in itself but rather a way to meet a broader goal for developing countries’ long-term economic growth and sustainable development.