The FINANCIAL — The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is representing the global business community this week at a major United Nations (UN) conference on South-South Cooperation. The conference was convened to mark the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among developing countries.
South–South Cooperation – the exchange of resources, technology, and knowledge between developing countries – is a form of development cooperation born out of shared historical experiences and challenges and geared towards common objectives. The 2019 “BAPA+40” Conference held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is intended to update the principles of South-South Cooperation to fit contemporary and emerging challenges – and the common global objective of achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs.)
As a Permanent Observer to the UN – and an experienced partner in successful development cooperation efforts – ICC’s engagement is focused on outlining the role business can play in catalysing sustainable development in developing economies.
ICC’s delegation this week is composed of Government Relations Manager Isabel Franco Coimbra, President of ICC Argentina Victor Dosoretz, ICC Argentina Board members Monica Diskin and Osvaldo Scasserra – and supported by ICC Argentina experts Sebastian Ferrari and Romina Lujan.
In its intervention at the general debate, ICC will welcome the role that South-South Cooperation plays in contributing to a fair and inclusive economic order:
“The recent increase in South-South cooperation has deepened regional, sub-regional and interregional integration and contributed to the strengthening of the multilateral system by promoting economic interconnection and cooperation, including in areas like trade and infrastructure development and connectivity.”
In this context, ICC is championing the importance of leveraging local business community insights in the implementation of South-South Cooperation initiatives, to identify obstacles in the creation of environments that enable long-term sustainable development.
“We welcome recognition within the final document of the important role that the private sector can play in supporting South-South cooperation – and encourage governments to fully leverage the skills, expertise and resources of the private sector to help deliver meaningful and effective development reforms.”
In this context, ICC’s delegation at BAPA+40 has also profiled the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, as a prime example of how local business and governments can successfully collaborate to achieve national development strategies and priorities. The Global Alliance now has a portfolio of 10 major projects – each co-created through a unique public-private dialogue model.
