South–South cooperation

South–South cooperation (SSC) is a term historically used by policymakers and academics to describe the exchange of resources, technology, and knowledge between developing countries.

Definition The term South or Global South is defined as regions in the world that have similar political, social and economic histories that are rooted in disparities that occurred during the colonial or imperialist era. The South is understood as an ideological expression of the concerns facing developing regions, which are increasingly diverse in economic and political experience. The Global South is making increasingly significant contributions to global development. The economic and geopolitical relevance of many countries has grown. In the past, South–South cooperation focused on sharing knowledge and building capacities, but the countries of the Global South and new financial institutions have recently also become increasingly active in development finance. This collaboration refers to the long-term historical project of liberating communities and nations from the remnants of colonialism, poverty, oppression and backwardness. This cooperation becomes the main organizing concept and set of practices in achieving historical change through a vision of mutual benefit and solidarity among groups that can be said to be disadvantaged in the world system. This conveys the hope that cooperation through the development sector can be achieved by these disadvantaged communities through their mutual assistance to each other, and the entire world order is transformed to reflect their shared interests from the domination of the Northern countries.

History The formation of SSC can be traced to the Asian–African Conference that took place in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955. The conference has been largely regarded as a milestone for SSC. Indonesia's president at that time, Sukarno, referred to it as "the first intercontinental conference of coloured peoples in the history of mankind." Despite Sukarno's opening address about the conference, there had been gatherings similar to the Bandung Conference in the past. Nevertheless the Bandung Conference was distinctive and facilitated the formation of SSC because it was the first time that the countries in attendance were no longer colonies of distant European powers. President Sukarno also famously remarked at the conference that "Now we are free, sovereign, and independent. We are again masters in our own house. We do not need to go to other continents to confer." The conference was sponsored by Burma, Ceylon, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan, and was attended by these 29 independent countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Cambodia, Ceylon, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gold Coast, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the State of Vietnam, and the Kingdom of Yemen. Each country supported the continuation of decolonization efforts happening in both Africa and Asia at the time. Although many countries disagreed on some issues, the Bandung Conference "provided the first major instance of the post-colonial countries' collective resistance to Western dominance in international relations." In 1978, the United Nations established the Unit for South–South Cooperation to promote South–South trade and collaboration within its agencies. However, the impact of South–South cooperation on development began to be felt only in the late 1990s. Due to the geographical spectrum, activities are known as Africa–South America (ASA) cooperation as well as, in the Asia-Pacific region, South–South cooperation. As of 2026, three ASA summits have been held. The first summit was held in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2006 where 53 delegates from Africa and 12 from South America attended. The second was held on the Margarita Island in Venezuela in September 2009 where 49 heads of states from Africa and 12 heads of states from South America attended. The third was originally scheduled to be held in Libya in September 2011, but was postponed due to the outbreak of the Libyan Civil War; It was ultimately held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in February 2013. The fourth was scheduled to be held in Quito, Ecuador, in mid-2016, but was postponed to 2017 and then postponed indefinitely. South–South cooperation has helped to decrease dependence on the aid programs of developed countries and shift the international balance of power.

Normative principles Mutual respect regarding state sovereignty Partnership between equal countries Obtain benefits related to cooperation evenly Does not depend on conditions There is no intervention between countries that cooperate with each other (non-interference)

Direction The leaders of South American and African countries hope that this cooperation will bring a new world order and counter the existing Western dominance socially, economically and politically. President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela saw the formation of this cooperation as the "beginning of the salvation of [the] people."

Economic cooperation

One of the key goals of the cooperation is to strengthen and improve economic ties. Some of the areas which these "Southern" nations look forward to improving further include joint investment in energy and oil, and a common bank. Among other regional trade agreements which were reached during the 2009 summit was Venezuela signing an oil agreement with South Africa and a memorandum of understanding with Sierra Leone to form a joint mining company. Meanwhile, Brazil has developed an increasingly successful model of overseas aid provision of over US$1 billion annually (ahead of many traditional donors), which focuses on technical expertise and knowledge transfer. Most Brazilian aid is allocated to Africa, specifically to Portuguese-speaking African countries, and Latin America. Brazil's form of South–South development aid has been called a "global model in waiting". The two continents have over one quarter of the world's energy resources. This includes the oil and natural gas reserves in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Algeria, Angola, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya and Nigeria.

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