Africa—South cooperation: Initiatives, patterns and challenges

Africa has a history of cooperation with the South. Its formal involvement in South–South cooperation dates back to 1955 when African and Asian nations, most of them newly independent, held a conference in Bandung, Indonesia, to promote economic and cultural cooperation and bring an end to colonialism. The Bandung Conference called for the promotion of world peace and underscored the need for developing nations to reduce their dependence on industrialized countries by providing technical assistance to one another. Furthermore, the Bandung Conference provided inspiration and impetus for the development of various South–South alliances in the 1960s and 1970s. For example, it led to the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961. It also provided impetus for the creation of the Group of 77 (G-77) during the first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 1964. The G-77 has established itself as the leading voice of the South in the global arena (United Nations, 2009a). It has also played a lead role in establishing a conceptual framework and guiding principles for South–South cooperation (box 1).

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development

Countries: South Africa