South–South cooperation

South–South Cooperation is a term historically used by policymakers and academics to describe the exchange of resources, technology, and knowledge between developing countries, also known as countries of the Global South. South–South Cooperation is a term historically used by policymakers and academics to describe the exchange of resources, technology, and knowledge between developing countries, also known as countries of the Global South. The formation of SSC can be traced to the Asian–African Conference that took place in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955 which is also known as the Bandung Conference. The conference has been largely regarded as a milestone for SSC cooperation. 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 India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Burma, and Indonesia 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, Syria, Sudan, Thailand, Turkey, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, 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 idea of South–South cooperation only started to influence the field of development in the late 1990s. Due to the geographical spectrum, activities are known as South America-Africa (ASA) cooperation as well as, in the Asia-Pacific region, South–South cooperation. The ASA cooperation has so far held two summits. The first summit was held in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2006 where 53 delegates from Africa and 12 from South America attended. The second and most recent one was held on the Margarita Island in Venezuela in Sept 2009 where 49 heads of states from Africa and 12 heads of states from South America attended. South–South cooperation has been successful in decreasing dependence on the aid programs of developed countries and in creating a shift in the international balance of power. 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. Late president Hugo Chávez saw the formation of this cooperation as the 'beginning of the salvation of people,' and as a major anti-imperialism movement. Like President Hugo Chávez, the ex-Libyan Leader Muammar al-Gaddafi was also very critical of the Western dominance of the 'third world' nations. 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 $1 billion annually (ahead of many traditional donors), which focuses on technical expertise and the transfer of knowledge and expertise. Most of 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'.