The Participants at the High-level Conference on South-South Cooperation held in Marrakech, Morocco, from 16 to 19 December 2003, having adopted the Marrakech Declaration on South-South Cooperation, guided by the provisions of the Havana Programme of Action, and while stressing that the implementation of South-South Cooperation depends upon its adequate integration in national, subregional and regional and international cooperation policies and strategies, agree on the implementation of the following measures and initiatives:

1. Undertaking a study, with the support of UNDP, on the potential of intensifying interactions between business agents in developing countries, both from the private and the public sector, including recommendations on ways of fully exploring the potential of joint ventures in different areas. Such study will be presented for discussion and recommendation to a Symposium to be held at the margin of the Second South Summit in 2005 with the aim of analyzing existing joint ventures among the countries of the South, identifying ways and means to enhance such joint ventures and establish a South database on joint ventures.

3. Working toward achieving the objectives of eradicating illiteracy with the development of projects on basic education using the experience and know-how of some developing countries, including through triangular cooperation.

4. Supporting the establishment of an International Voluntary Digital Solidarity Fund as an innovative mechanism to contribute towards building of an inclusive Global Information Society and to the implementation of the Digital Solidarity Agenda set forth in the Plan of Action adopted at the World Summit on Information Society held in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003.

5. Enhancing coordination and joint negotiating positions on major issues of the multilateral trading negotiations, in particular the Doha Work Programme. In this regard, mechanisms could be identified to share information among the developing countries and build capacity.

6. Working together to address constraints in cross-border movement of services suppliers from countries of the South to markets of developed countries as this is crucial to the expansion of exports and for poverty reduction.

7. Supporting UNCTAD’s role in policy analysis and consensus building to assist the South in identifying and evolving development benchmarks in multilateral negotiations.

8. Promoting investment among developing countries, including through bilateral agreements (BITS), the sharing of experiences towards capacity building in investment promotion and information sharing on investment opportunities.

9. Convening, no later than 2005, a G-77 Conference on Physical Infrastructures for Development with the aim of addressing South-South cooperation in this area, given the experiences of different regions and in this regard requesting the IFCC to discuss the scope and venue of this Conference and make recommendations to the Annual Ministerial Meeting of G-77.

10. Urging members of the GSTP to fully benefit from this instrument for the revitalization of South-South trade and strengthen its effectiveness, by expediting the ratification of tariff commitments negotiated during its second round and continuing work in progress in Geneva on a third round of negotiations, which could be launched on the occasion of UNCTAD-XI, in Sao Paulo, in June 2004.

11. Supporting activities and measures, in particular in the framework of WTO related to the access to markets of developed countries of products of developing countries, taking into account, inter alia, the needs of LDCs and highly indebted developing countries to overcome their critical situation.

12. Facilitating and supporting the accession of all developing countries that applied to the WTO, on the basis of transparent conditions, and emphasizing that no country should be prevented from participating in the multilateral trading system and its accession to the WTO should not be hindered on account of non-trade related considerations and that candidates for accession should not be requested to have commitments beyond those of members.

13. Exchanging experiences and expertise in the area of agricultural production with the aim of enhancing productivity and food security, and supporting, in this context, the Special Programme of Food Security (SPFS) undertaken under the auspices of FAO, in which South-South cooperation is a fundamental component and undertaking to fully use its potential in order to enhance solidarity among developing countries and to allow developing countries to benefit from the experiences and expertise of other developing countries in food production. In this context, encouraging other funds, agencies and programmes of the United Nations to initiate or strengthen similar efforts in their respective fields of actions and responsibilities.

14. Promoting cooperative actions among developing countries aimed at dealing with the commodity issues, with the support of UNCTAD, FAO and the Common Fund for Commodities.

15. Supporting the holding of an International Seminar on Food Security to be held in the second half of 2004 in Brazil.

16. Working towards a greater South-South cooperation to successfully combat HIV/AIDS pandemic, malaria, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases, including sharing of experiences, expertise and best practices, as well as cooperative arrangements in procurement of preventive and curative drugs, giving special attention to the offers of cooperation made by some developing countries including concerning medical personnel and exploring triangular cooperation.

17. Using fully the potential of South-South cooperation in following up the implementation of the Decision of August 30th, 2003 on paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, to be incorporated in the TRIPS Agreement.

18. Urging the international community to support efforts by the countries of the South in addressing the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS.

19. Supporting the implementation of the South-South Healthcare Delivery Programme and urging for broader collaboration of partners and countries of the South while acknowledging efforts made by some developing countries in the supply of medical personnel.

20. Participating in the Training Resource Platform developed by UNCTAD in the area of trade and development, aiming at strengthening training capacities in developing countries.

21. Sharing experiences and expertise on programmes especially related to women and children.

22. Supporting and participating in the launching, in the first part of 2004, of the e-tourism initiative designed by UNCTAD to assist developing countries in the promotion of tourism.

23. Developing South-South cooperation on debt management with the support of relevant organizations including UNCTAD, using experiences and expertise of developing countries to benefit other developing countries especially the highly indebted poor developing countries.

24. Acknowledging the need to enlarge the involvement of developing countries in joint efforts to overcome extreme poverty and, in this context, taking note of the initiatives undertaken by the developing countries, including those announced at the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly.

25. Inviting the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation to work with developing countries to formulate and help implement joint and mutually beneficial programmes to respond to the urgent needs of the developing countries, and also inviting the UNDP to ensure that the South-South dimension is mainstreamed in all its activities. In this regard, taking note with interest of the concrete recommendations of the High-level Meeting of Pivotal Partners of South-South and Triangular Cooperation held in November 2003 in Hangzhou, China.

26. Supporting the convening of a Water Forum with a view to promote the exchange of scientific and technological know-how and the sharing of experiences and best practices among developing countries, after the consideration of this issue by the Commission on Sustainable Development.

27. Supporting the strengthening of the UNDP Special Unit for South-South cooperation as a focal point for South-South cooperation within the United Nations System, including through enhancing its capacity to coordinate South-South issues in the United Nations system, which would allow the Unit to adequately map experiences and promote and support initiatives in the domain of South-South cooperation.

28. Establishing and strengthening regular mechanisms of consultations, communication, and sharing of information and experiences among regional and sub-regional economic groupings as well as development supportive networks.

29. Ensuring the full use of triangular cooperation and the engagement of relevant international and regional organizations as well as a full involvement of business community and civil society to strengthen South-South cooperation.

30. Supporting existing platforms of cooperation concluded between African and Asian countries and between African and Latin American countries as effective tools in the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, in particular with regard to exchange of expertise.

31. Supporting the United Nations General Assembly’s High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation to explore possibilities of expanding South-South cooperation programmes within the UN system.

32. Encouraging greater consultation and cooperation among national TCDC units at the regional level where appropriate in order to enhance effective and efficient undertaking of programmes and projects.

33. Encouraging the strengthening and periodic updating of the WIDE Electronic databank operated by UNDP Special Unit on South-South Cooperation, in coordination with governments, allowing for wide diffusion of and access to the information contained therein, including experiences, best practices and potential partners in South-South cooperation.

34. Supporting bilateral initiatives undertaken by some developing countries for debt cancellation to benefit LDCs and in this regard encouraging other developing countries to also undertake further initiatives to strengthen solidarity with this most vulnerable group of developing countries.

35. Continuing also all initiatives aimed at enhancing market access for the products of export interest to the LDCs and calling for further similar initiatives by developing countries

36. Promoting initiatives in favour of the least developed countries in the context of South-South cooperation by implementing projects in areas such as human and productive capacity building, technical assistance, exchange of best practices, particularly in issues relating to health, education, professional training, environment, science and technology, trade, investment and transit transport cooperation.

37. Encouraging, in the framework of implementation of the Almaty Programme of Action, the landlocked developing countries and the transit developing countries to continue intensifying their collaboration and cooperation through existing transit arrangements and agreements among them. In this regard, calling on donor countries and multilateral financial and development institutions to ensure effective implementation of Almaty Programme of Action by providing LLDCs and transit developing countries with appropriate financial and technical assistance.

38. Enhancing policies to support SIDS efforts to meet the significant challenges posed by their structural vulnerabilities, and calling on the international community to honour and renew their commitments to the Barbados Programme of Action and to support all efforts being undertaken by SIDS, including through South-South cooperation, to attain the international development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration.

39. Continuing to pay special attention to the situation of post-conflict developing countries, in particular LDCs, with a view to enabling them to rehabilitate and reconstruct, as appropriate, political, social and economic infrastructures and to assist them in achieving their development priorities.

40. Intensify South-South cooperation for the preservation, protection and promotion of traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore and the building of consensus in relevant international fora and the development of legally binding international instruments on intellectual property rights regarding these issues.

41. Promoting cooperation in the exchange of scientific and technological know-how in sourcing, efficient management, preservation and sustainable use of water, in accordance with the existing and relevant provisions of international law.

42. Supporting the holding of an International Forum on Development from 16 to 17 February 2004 in Doha, Qatar, to exchange views on achieving development objectives and addressing related challenges.

43. Supporting consultations and continuous exchange of views among developing countries on issues which are the subject of the high-level United Nations events as well as on other emerging issues relevant to development.

44. Taking immediate steps to expand the resources of the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF).

45. Strengthening the substantive capacity of the G-77 Secretariat (Office of the Chairman) through the payment by the members of the Group of 77 on a regular basis and in a timely manner of their financial contributions.

46. Strengthening the South Centre as a think-tank of the countries of the South to undertake research programmes to support their negotiations.

47. Urging all Member States to make special contributions to the G-77 Special Fund for the follow-up and implementation of the outcome decisions of the Group as established by Heads of State and Government in Havana.

48. Recommending to the IFCC-XI to establish an open-ended intergovernmental study group which will convene a workshop among developing countries to address the viability of the proposed G-77 Trade and Development Bank and to submit a report for consideration on the outcome through the Annual Ministerial Meeting of the G-77 to the Second South Summit in 2005.

49. Strengthening cooperation and coordination between the G-77 and the NAM in promoting South-South Cooperation by requesting the Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) to meet more regularly to discuss issues of common interest in the field of South-South cooperation where synergies could be explored.

50. Establishing under the responsibility of the Chair of G-77 of an open-ended Follow-up Group to South-South Cooperation which should report to the Annual Ministerial Meeting of the G-77 on the implementation of South-South cooperation.

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