15th December 2005

Hong Kong Trade and Development Symposium Session 5.3: South-South Cooperation on WTO Issues: Where Do We Stand and How to Move Forward?

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South-South cooperation emerged both to create synergies for collective efforts towards development, and as a response to the North’s insistence on more liberalised economies which often resulted in more vulnerable economies and even a u-turn from development. It acknowledges that “one size does not fit all” and that the South needs customised policies and development alternatives for growth. There is no denying that developing and least developed countries should cooperate among themselves to safeguard their interests in the ongoing Doha round of trade negotiations. Furthermore, the greatest beneficiaries of South-South cooperation would be the least developed countries as not only would they learn from their counterparts, but difficult reform processes would also be legitimised.

As seen at Cancun, G-20 withstood the dominance of developed countries and even though, the Ministerial turned out to be a failure, the G-20 coalition prevented the inclusion of Singapore issues in the negotiating agenda of the present round. Similarly, G-33, another coalition of developing countries, forcefully argued the case of special products and special safeguards for developing countries. Finally, in “July Package”, provisions were made for the special products and special safeguards. Large developing countries are not the only ones participating actively in trade negotiations, some LDCs are also articulating their concerns in a very effective manner; the case of Cotton is worth mentioning here.

However, the biggest challenge now, is to further consolidate such alliances and reap maximum benefits out of them. This is essential to further strengthen South-South solidarity in WTO negotiations. Critics argue that South-South cooperation is hampering multilateral cooperation, especially in the aftermath of the Cancun debacle, but we believe that they are parallel processes, which will make multilateral trading system more equitable and stronger.

Agenda

Moderator: Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General, Consumer Unity and Trust Society

Panellists:
Deepak Patel*, Minister of Trade and Industry, Zambia

Toufiq Ali*, Ambassador to the WTO, Bangladesh

Mario Marconini, Executive Director, Brazilian Council on Foreign Relations (CEBRI), Brazil

Rashid Kaukab*, South Centre, Geneva

Mills Soko, Research Associate, The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), South Africa

Sok Hach, Director, Economic Institute of Cambodia (EIC)

Manuel Montes, Regional Programme Coordinator, UNDP Colombo Regional Centre

Chandrakant Patel, Europe Representative of Southern and Eastern African Trade Institute (SEATINI)

Floor discussion

*to be confirmed

Organisers

Economic Institute of Cambodia (EIC): Registered in February 2003 as a Non-Governmental Organisation, the EIC is a think tank committed to enhance the awareness of Cambodian stakeholders on development issues and to participate in the formulation of sustainable economic development policies and strategies that will equitably benefit most, if not all, Cambodians. It is involved in developing Cambodia’s socio-economic database and modeling, conducting policy-oriented research on issues of relevance in trade, investment, poverty reduction, private sector development, social justice, economic governance, and other areas.
Website: www.eicambodia.org

Institute for International Trade Negotiations Studies (ICONE): It is an independent non-profit organization, established in the year of 2003. The focused areas of this organization are to carry out applied research work to support international negotiations, particularly in the area of agribusiness, thus contributing to a broader integration of Brazil into the world economy.

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA): It is an independent, non-governmental organisation established in 1994 to promote a wider and more informed understanding of international issues among South Africans. This organisation is also involved to educate, inform and facilitate contact between people concerned with South Africa’s place in the world, and to contribute to the public debate on foreign policy. With this connection SAIIA has supported democratic South Africa in dealing with its rapidly expanding international engagements by promoting public debate and independent policy analysis. It has also established record in research and conference organisation, and also in producing high-quality, high-impact publications within the time with limited institutional overheads. Website: www.saiia.org.za

CUTS Centre for Trade, Economics and Environment (CUTS-CITEE):
Consumer Unity and Trust Society, Centre for International Trade, Economics and Environment (CUTS-CITEE), India, has studied issues of trade and development since 1996. The parent body, CUTS, has 20 years experience of linking research with advocacy, working at both grassroots and international level and in the creation of sustainable networks. It manages resource centres throughout India, and in Africa and UK. Key relevant ongoing themes include fostering equity and accountability in trading systems, and capacity building on linkages between trade and non-trade concerns.
email: citee@cuts.org

Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI): SEATINI is an African initiative to strengthen Africa’s capacity to take a more effective part in the emerging global trading system and to better manage the process of Globalization. They deal specifically with issues and debates around the World Trade Organisation and Africa’s relationships to it. It become an institute through the resolution of the Board of Trustees at their meeting on the 4th of August 2001, which was held in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Website: www.seatini.org

Background Documents

Enhancing South-South Cooperation on Trade: An Alternative to Northern Market

Economic Cooperation in South Asia: Current State and Prospects