Speaking with UN News for the International Day of South-South CooperationDima al-Khatib, Director of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, explained the transformative power of solidarity among developing countries.
UN News: Why is South-South cooperation so important?
Dima al-Khatib: Today, countries in the Global South are grappling with a multitude of complex development challenges, which have of course been exacerbated in recent years by the pandemic and its aftermath.
Countries are also grappling with the implications of the many crises that are happening in the world today, whether they are geopolitical, food-related crises, education-related crises or economic crises. It is quite a complex development context.
It is a context in which development issues require cooperation between countries.
For example, when we talk about climate, we are not talking about one country. Climate, water management, natural disasters do not know geographical boundaries. Peace and development are also something that has a spillover.
If countries do not work together to address, mitigate and adapt to these different complexities, it is a missed opportunity.
UN News: What are some examples of how countries in the Global South can work together to support each other?
Dima al-Khatib: I am from Lebanon and I would like to contribute to a regional initiative led by the UN Development Programme which is aimed at combating corruption. This initiative has resulted in technical assistance for individual countries to have strategies to combat corruption. It has succeeded in creating a network of policymakers from all countries of the region who meet regularly to discuss how they can learn from each other from a policy perspective to legal aspects and handling specific cases. These networks have proven to be extremely successful.
UN News: How common are examples of multi-country cooperation?
Dima al-Khatib: One major project funded by the India UN Partnership focuses on energy transition. It is a multi-country project involving 10 countries, all supported by the Solar Alliance. It not only helps countries learn from each other, but also ensures that all outcomes of these initiatives are closely linked to the national development priorities and plans of the respective countries. So it has a national dimension and a regional one.
UN News: Does cross-continent cooperation work?
Dima al-Khatib: I love this example because I saw it with my own eyes when I visited China not long ago. We have a partnership with China through an initiative for digital management of transportation in cities.
This is a great example of collaboration between the Hang Xue region and Santiago in Chile. We want to learn how to use digital technologies to manage transportation in big cities, reduce traffic jams, ensure the comfort of citizens and reduce pollution.
So there are countless examples that show the growing impact of this.
UN News: What role do young people play in South-South cooperation?
Dima al-Khatib: If you look at the population composition of the countries in the South, you will see that the majority is young.
They are the agents of change and they are very important to us. We have been working with UNESCO in a wonderful initiative to connect universities from the countries of the South.
This is very important because it not only increases the space for greener education but also creates a network of connectivity among young people in universities.
That is something that can easily be scaled to many other universities. For me, scalability and sustainability are the key elements in how we can take this further.
UN News: What is the link between South-South cooperation and the upcoming Top of the future?
Dima al-Khatib: The Summit of the Future is a crucial moment, because we still have five years to achieve the objectives. Sustainable Development Goals and we are way behind. Only 17 percent are on track.
This is an opportunity to renew our commitment to this agenda for South-South cooperation, but also to renew the commitment to use this modality to address the extremely complex development issues that countries are grappling with, including debt, climate change and health resilience.
I believe that many countries in the South have already come up with solutions and are waiting to move forward with the support of other countries.