South-South Cooperation needs to shape sound development architecture, says NEPAD
 
 
Bogota, Colombia, 25 March 2010 ( ECA) - Although South-South Cooperation (SSC) has promoted solidarity amongst countries of the South, it has not been adequately institutionalized to properly shape a sound development cooperation architecture amongst Southern countries, the CEO of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, said today in Bogota, Colombia.
 
NEPAD is supported by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) as the development framework for Africa by a mandate of the General Assembly.
 
In an opening remark at a roundtable discussion on “Emerging mechanisms to promote south-south cooperation and capacity development” , Mayaki  called for the formalization of SSC to influence public policy design to contribute to the development aspirations of the South
 
The roundtable was organized at the margins of the two-day  high level event on South-South cooperation and capacity development which ends today in Bogota. The high level event focused on how to contribute to a more effective and inclusive south-south cooperation architecture.
 
Mayaki called on Southern countries to take actual control of their development process by laying a foundation for sustainability through clear and measurable strategies to institutionalize the synergies between aid effectiveness, south-south cooperation and capacity development.
 
“The South should build coalitions and alliances to promote Southern-led cooperation as a useful instrument in establishing mechanisms that spans intra and inter-regional levels,” he said.
 
Calling on the global community to support the construction of a truly Southern-led cooperation architecture, Mayaki said African countries were already working on an Africa Regional Platform which would institutionalize the continent’s expectations on development effectiveness with capacity development as the core enabler.
 
To expand the policy frontiers for south-south cooperation and innovation, Mayaki called for a greater participation of the civil socity, private sector, academia and youth in the south-south cooperation agenda.
 
He also called for the reinforcement of regional platforms towards building a Southern-led learning architecture to impact development cooperation. “Investment in a Knowledge Exchange will generate knowledge benefits for all parties,” said Mayaki.
 

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