Talking to UN Information forward of the International Day of South-South Cooperation, Dima al-Khatib, Director of the UN Workplace for South-South Cooperation, defined the transformative energy of solidarity amongst growing nations.
UN Information: Why is south-south cooperation so vital?
Dima al-Khatib: These days the nations of the South are grappling with a large number of complicated growth points. These had been exacerbated, after all, within the current years by the pandemic and its aftermath.
Nations are additionally grappling with the implications of the a number of crises which are occurring on the planet at the moment, whether or not they be geopolitical, food-related crises, education-related crises or financial. It’s fairly a posh growth context.
It’s a context the place the event points at hand require collaboration amongst nations.
After we speak about local weather, as an illustration, we do not speak about one nation. Local weather, water administration, pure disasters know no geographic boundaries. Peace and growth can be one thing that has a spill over.
So, if nations don’t cooperate with one another so as to have the ability to deal with and mitigate and adapt to these completely different complexities, it’s a misplaced alternative.
UN Information: What are some examples of how nations of the worldwide South can work collectively to assist each other?
Dima al-Khatib: I’m from Lebanon and I need to give an of a regional initiative that’s led by the UNDP which goals at combating corruption. This initiative has resulted in technical help for particular person nations to have methods to battle corruption. It succeeded in making a community of policymakers from all of the nations of the area who meet usually to handle how they’ll be taught from one another from a coverage perspective to authorized features and to taking particular instances. These networks have been extraordinarily profitable.
UN Information: How widespread are examples of cooperation throughout greater than a number of nations?
Dima al-Khatib: One vital mission funded by the India UN Partnership focuses on power transition. It is a multi-country mission involving 10 nations that are all supported by the Photo voltaic Alliance. It’s serving to nations not solely to be taught from one another, but additionally to ensure that no matter outcomes from these initiatives may be very a lot linked to the nationwide growth priorities and plans of the respective nations. So, it has a nationwide dimension and a regional one.
UN Information: Does cooperation throughout continents work?
Dima al-Khatib: I really like this instance as a result of I noticed it firsthand after I visited China not way back. We now have a partnership with China by an initiative for the digital administration of transport in cities.
It is a incredible instance of collaboration between the locality of Cling Xue and Santiago in Chile when it comes to studying tips on how to handle transport in huge cities, alleviate site visitors jams, guarantee citizen consolation and scale back air pollution utilizing digital applied sciences.
So, there are such a lot of examples whereby one can sense the rising impression of this.
UN Information: What function do younger individuals play in South-South Cooperation?
Dima al-Khatib: If you happen to have a look at the inhabitants’s composition of the nations of the South, the bulk are younger.
They’re the brokers of change and for us they’re essential. We’re already working with UNESCO in a gorgeous initiative to attach universities among the many nations of the South.
This is essential as a result of it not solely elevates the house for a greener schooling, however it’s making a community of connectivity among the many youth in universities.
That is one thing that may simply be scaled up throughout many different universities. For me, scalability and sustainability are an important components in how we are able to take this ahead.
UN Information: What’s the connection between South-South Cooperation and the forthcoming Summit of the Future?
Dima al-Khatib: The Summit of the Future is a important second as a result of we have now 5 years forward of us for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and we’re method behind. Solely 17 per cent are on monitor.
This is a chance to resume our dedication to this agenda of South-South cooperation however to additionally renew the dedication of utilizing this modality for addressing these extraordinarily complicated growth points that the nations are grappling with, together with debt misery, local weather change and well being resilience.
I imagine a variety of nations of the South have put ahead a variety of options and are ready to maneuver ahead with the assist of different nations.
