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 creating international locations.
UN Information: Why is south-south cooperation so essential?
Dima al-Khatib: These days the international locations of the South are grappling with a mess of advanced improvement points. These have 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 can be taking place 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 improvement context.
It’s a context the place the event points at hand require collaboration amongst international locations.
After we discuss local weather, for example, we do not discuss one nation. Local weather, water administration, pure disasters know no geographic boundaries. Peace and improvement can be one thing that has a spill over.
So, if international locations don’t cooperate with one another so as to have the ability to handle and mitigate and adapt to these totally different complexities, it’s a misplaced alternative.
UN Information: What are some examples of how international locations of the worldwide South can work collectively to help 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 international locations to have methods to struggle corruption. It succeeded in making a community of policymakers from all of the international locations of the area who meet repeatedly to handle how they will be taught from one another from a coverage perspective to authorized points and to taking particular circumstances. These networks have been extraordinarily profitable.
UN Information: How widespread are examples of cooperation throughout greater than a number of international locations?
Dima al-Khatib: One essential venture funded by the India UN Partnership focuses on power transition. It is a multi-country venture involving 10 international locations that are all supported by the Photo voltaic Alliance. It’s serving to international locations not solely to be taught from one another, but in addition to ensure that no matter outcomes from these initiatives may be very a lot linked to the nationwide improvement priorities and plans of the respective international locations. So, it has a nationwide dimension and a regional one.
UN Information: Does cooperation throughout continents work?
Dima al-Khatib: I like this instance as a result of I noticed it firsthand once I visited China not way back. We’ve a partnership with China by way of an initiative for the digital administration of transport in cities.
This can be a implausible instance of collaboration between the locality of Dangle Xue and Santiago in Chile when it comes to studying methods to handle transport in huge cities, alleviate site visitors jams, guarantee citizen consolation and cut back air pollution utilizing digital applied sciences.
So, there are such a lot of examples whereby one can sense the rising affect of this.
UN Information: What function do younger folks play in South-South Cooperation?
Dima al-Khatib: When you take a look at the inhabitants’s composition of the international locations of the South, the bulk are younger.
They’re the brokers of change and for us they’re crucial. We’re already working with UNESCO in a gorgeous initiative to attach universities among the many international locations of the South.
This is essential as a result of it not solely elevates the area for a greener training, 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 crucial 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 vital second as a result of now we have 5 years forward of us for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and we’re manner 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 advanced improvement points that the international locations are grappling with, together with debt misery, local weather change and well being resilience.
I consider lots of international locations of the South have put ahead lots of options and are ready to maneuver ahead with the help of different international locations.
World Points Information with Newsmaac
