Chairman's Report to the Meeting of Heads of State and Government

SECOND SOUTH SUMMIT
MINISTERIAL INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT TO THE MEETING OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT

Presented by Senator the Honourable Delano Franklyn
Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica

16 June 2005

The Ministers in their meeting on 13 June 2005 had a very lively and thought provoking debate on the issues of South-South Cooperation and the United Nations.

As it relates to South-South Cooperation, the Ministers pointed out that this represents a crucially important tool for achieving development and strengthening the economic linkages between developing countries.

South-South Cooperation is also one of the means of ensuring the equitable and effective participation of developing countries in the emerging global economic order. South-South Cooperation, however, must not be seen as a substitute to North - South cooperation. It is rather a complement to it.

The Ministers reminded the meeting that in Havana in 2000, Heads decided to expand South-South Cooperation. Heads also adopted a Declaration and Programme of Action with the priorities and activities clearly identified and which remain valid as our framework for action.

Trade and Investment, cooperation in the monetary and financial fields, promotion of social development including capacity building, institutional strengthening and human resources, the fight against diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis and the eradication of poverty remain the main areas of action.

The Ministers noted that the potential for South-South Cooperation still remains largely untapped due to a lack of effective implementation and follow up. Progress over the years has not been in keeping with the nature and dimension of the commitments embodied in this framework.

The Ministers agreed that developing countries must overcome these obstacles and provide a decisive impetus to South- South Cooperation. We have to introduce new ideas and make full use of our cooperation capacities. The South-South Cooperation Agenda has to be rational and realistic. In this context, the Ministers agreed that the Agenda has to be development oriented, goals have to be attainable, the private and all sectors of society should be involved and human resources and capacities must be developed.

It was further observed by the Ministers that there are many more opportunities for South-South cooperation, as the economies of developing countries are becoming increasingly complementary. Exchanges are already growing in all sectors, but in some sectors, developing countries do not take enough advantage of available facilities and resources.

The Ministers also argued that South-South Cooperation is gradually taking another dimension, from bilateral exchanges to regional integration and interregional exchanges, and they identified initiatives such as the NEPAD and New Africa-Asia Strategic Partnerships (NAASP) as good examples which are providing a framework for South-South cooperation.

Strengthening the Role of the United Nations in the field of Development

The Ministers all agreed that it is crucial for the efforts aimed at the United Nations Reform result in genuine strengthening and revitalization of the United Nations. For this to happen, however, it was pointed out that it is essential that development remains the priority and the centre of its work.

The text of the President of the United Nations General Assembly offers a basis on which it is possible to negotiate in order to produce a document for the September Summit.

The fact that the text highlights the central coordinating role of the Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC) is to be welcomed.

In making its detailed input into the negotiating process, the Group of 77 should draw on what it has already formulated in New York. It would have to ensure that the Agenda goes beyond the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and becomes a broad development agenda.

In general, developing countries must support genuine multilateralism and democratization of global governance.

In this context, the Reform of the United Nations should also be extended to the Bretton Woods Institutions, which all have a vital impact on development and on international economic relations.

Financing for Development, especially the commitment of developed countries to allocate 0.7% of their GDP to ODA, should be emphasized and accompanied by a time bound commitment. There should also be an effective mechanism for monitoring the aid flows.

Debt reduction or cancellation agreed upon recently, is the first step in a process that needs to be continued and extended to many more developing countries.

The Ministers agreed that this much needed assistance must not be fettered by political conditionalities. The countries of the North must also go beyond debt cancellation and address the issues of market access and agricultural subsidies.

With these few words, Mr. Chairman, I hereby present the Doha Declaration and Plan of Action as approved by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs for your consideration and adoption.