UNITED NATIONS, (G77/IPS) — A resolution initiated by the Group of 77 at a meeting of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation calls for the convening in 2008 of a U.N. conference on South-South Cooperation.
Making a strong pitch for a proposed high-level conference, the chairman of the Group of 77 Ambassador Munir Akram said that in the overall context of multilateralism, South-South cooperation is “a an important process that is vital to confront the challenges faced by developing nations, and is also making an increasingly important contribution to their development.”
Asked about the proposed summit, Ambassador Akram told the JOURNAL OF THE GROUP OF 77 that there have been several South Summits before, including one in Cuba and another in Qatar.
“If we can have a conference devoted to development cooperation, which also brings together the financial institutions which provide assistance, policy makers, and directors of development cooperation, that would be a step forward.”
“We need to build the requisite structure at the global level,” he added.
The resolution adopted at the meeting of the high level committee on South-South cooperation also welcomed “the generous offer by Argentina to host a high-level U.N. conference on South-South cooperation on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action.”
The resolution also called upon the President of the U.N. General Assembly to entrust the President of the High-level Committee on South-South cooperation to undertake “the necessary consultations in order to prepare for the proposed conference.”