GROUP OF 77
GENEVA

STATEMENT BY H.E. MR. DIEGO AULESTIA VALENCIA (ECUADOR) ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA IN GENEVA AT THE EVENT: ¿HOW WILL THE POST BAPA+40 ERA FURTHER CONTRIBUTE TO THE ATTAINMENT OF THE 2030 AGENDA?
(Geneva, 23 May 2019)

1. Many changes have occurred since 1978 when the Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA) for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries was adopted. The 4th Industrial Revolution and the consequent irruption of new technologies have multiplied the dimensions to be considered in the development agenda.

2. The celebration of BAPA+40 in March this year, provided on one hand the opportunity to share views on South-South cooperation framework, and on the other evidenced the need to defend the principles collected in the Yamoussoukro Consensus regarding South-South Cooperation.

3. The Group of 77 and China has always stressed that South-South cooperation is a voluntary manifestation of solidarity among peoples and countries of the South that contributes to their national well-being, national and collective self-reliance and the attainment of the 2030 Agenda. It should never be considered as a substitute for North-South cooperation, which remains the main channel for international development cooperation, but a complement. The spread of South-South Cooperation shall not reduce the commitment of developed countries to reach 0.7% of their GNIs, as their official developing assistance to developing countries.

4. The Group of 77 and China remains concerned and strongly oppose attempts to measure, monitor or harmonize with the ODA frameworks, which will not bring more resources for development; but, on the contrary, it will jeopardize the existing diversity of flows. Demands of measurement, monitoring and reporting on South-South Cooperation, will only divert and waste treasured resources for development and the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The Southern countries shall detect and defined their own needs regarding monitoring with the aim of improving and learning from their actual experiences. Any attempt to create conceptual frameworks on this field shall derive from the initiative of the involved parties.

5. Enhanced South-South cooperation can play a substantive role in the strategies developing countries put in place in order to obtain benefits from the digital era. In this regard BAPA +40 outcome document provided a substantial element when highlighting the need to enhance technical cooperation, sharing of knowledge and experience, training, capacity building and technology transfer on mutually agreed terms.

6. South-South cooperation plays a relevant role in facilitating regional and sub regional integration. Moreover, it has been an important factor in regional policymaking development and encompassing non-State actors. Thanks to this feature, South-South Cooperation shall be regarded as a key element when discussing about digital economy. If LDCs and small and vulnerable countries improve their cooperative relations, they will be able to better confront the economic impact of the digital and technological gap.

7. In the current international landscape, regional integration is a strong argument favoring multilateralism. Integrated developing countries, not only at the national state level, could have a greater impact when defending principles in the international arena. This is also true in the area of trade, in this regard it is expected that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement will provide fruitful examples of South-South cooperation activities.

8. Developing countries can joint efforts to better confront the devastating effects of climate change. Small farm families vulnerable to draughts and floods are located in the tropics of the planet, South-South cooperation can help countries in danger to put in place contextually appropriate solutions to these threats.

9. BAPA +40 provides a multilateral framework, stressing the importance of regional integration in the development process. The role this document concedes to the UN Regional Economic Commissions is coherent with the potential that cooperation in this level has in order to create frameworks to better address the current developing challenges.

10. The Group regrets that BAPA +40 outcome has placed UNCTAD aside, when this institution has been for years an important pillar of the multilateral discussions on development. The document has embraced "principles of respect for national sovereignty, national ownership and independence, equality, non-conditionality, non-interference in domestic affairs and mutual benefit" and mentions on many occasions the importance of policies. UNCTAD was a pioneer in the conceptualization of policy space, which articulates the previously mentioned principles and therefore can successfully contribute to the implementation of the BAPA +40 outcome.

11. The implementation of BAPA +40 outcome shall be prioritized by the developing countries. Indeed, its implementation is fundamental for the South to claim ownership over this cooperation modality.