The post-2015 development agenda and South-South and triangular cooperation - How the partnership model should be?

Abstract

South–South and triangular cooperation as a partnership model for the post-2015 development agenda In the Outcome Document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development,1 it was decided to create an Open Working Group (OWG) to propose new development goals after 2015 replacing the Millennium Development Goals.2 The OWG report specifically mentions South–South and triangular cooperation in the Goal 17 entitled ‘Strengthen the means of implementations and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development’, under the topic of ‘technology’ and ‘capacity-building’. The UN Secretary-General issued a synthesis report on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda,3 which highlighted the establishment of new institutions of South–South cooperation, such as the BRICS Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, as new opportunities to finance investments in sustainable development. It also mentions that South–South cooperation and the significant efforts of solidarity by emerging economies is encouraging. More countries will need to commit to increasing their contribution to international public financing and set targets and timelines to do so. In turn, South–South technical assistance and the sharing of experiences through regional forums should be promoted.4 As such, South–South cooperation features as a way to unite efforts of the Global South for development, through knowledge and technology transfer and mutual capacity-building efforts,5 while triangular cooperation involves Southern-driven partnerships between two or more developing countries supported by a developed country(ies)/or multilateral organisation(s) to implement development cooperation programmes and projects.6 Here, the role of developed countries and or multilateral organisations could be to provide financial support to South–South cooperation, facilitate match-making among solution seekers and providers, to provide additional options for knowledge and technology based on its own development experience, and share its expertise on management of development cooperation initiatives with triangular cooperation partners.7 Triangular cooperation has a clear potential not only to play an important role in sustainable development trajectories, but also to be a model for global partnership for sustainable development for the next 15 years. In this context, the following three questions arise: what role could regional fora and financing mechanisms potentially play in implementing the SDGs? What experiences of a regional and inter-regional approach can be built on towards these ends? And what does triangular cooperation mean in the context of global partnership for sustainable development?