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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS |
UNCTAD'S Multi-Year Export Meeting On 'INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION: SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION'
At the fifty-fifth session of UNCTAD's Trade Development Board, held in September, 2008, it was decided to organize the first Multi-Year Expert Meeting on 'International Cooperation: South-South Cooperation and Regional Integration,' which will address the salient features of South-South Regional and Interregional integration schemes, including cases of effective/innovative South-South cooperation, that augment South-North Policy approaches in enhancing development. It was recognized at the above session, that the current global financial crisis has raised a number of serious concerns with regard to its impact on the global economy, financial sectors, FDI and global trade. It was decided that the Expert Meeting will discuss these concerns in the context of South-South cooperation and regional arrangements.
The Multi-Year Expert Meeting was held in Geneva, during February 4-5, 2009. The Honorary President, G-NEXID was invited by UNCTAD to be an expert panelist in the session on 'South-South Trade and Global Financial Crisis,' held as part of the Expert Meeting. The experts discussed South-South trade at bilateral, regional and interregional levels and the role it can play in shielding developing countries from the global economic and financial crisis, and acting as a vehicle for trade expansion and economic growth. The Panelists agreed that South-South cooperation is vibrant and expanding, which is evidenced by a number of tangible examples of economic cooperation within and among developing regions. There were many presentations illustrating the viewpoints agreed by the panelists. The panel made many recommendations including Trade Preferences among developing countries, creation of a South-South Trade and Development Bank, reform of the International Financial Architecture, creation of a Task Force within UNCTAD to assist developing countries, creation of a platform for exchanging views among developing countries through different fora including G-NEXID, facilitating consultations among developing countries and setting up a system for regularly monitoring the trends and the impact of the economic and financial crisis. Recommendations of the panel are expected to go a long way in helping the South-South economies to combat the impacts of current global financial crisis. Papers presented at the Meeting can be accessed from the G-NEXID website under the 'Downloads' section. |