UN Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha
Zukang said?in New York?on Sunday that South-South
cooperation is an important component of international
cooperation.
Replying questions from Xinhua at a press conference after the
high-level Symposium in preparation for the first biennial
Development Cooperation Forum slated for July in New York, Sha
noted that South-South cooperation is a kind of cooperation that "
the poor helping the poor," which is of great importance as it has
accelerated the rapid development in many developing countries.
"The South-South cooperation is facing great challenges,
including how to accumulate enough funds to help developing
countries to achieve development, enhance aid efficiencies and
transparencies and eliminate corruption," Sha noted.
He added that the South-South cooperation, which is of great
potential, needs to explore new mechanisms and strengthen aid
quality framework.
As valued complements to North-South cooperation, South-South
cooperation and triangular cooperation for development are
receiving growing attention and interest from various stakeholders,
he said.
He also noted that North-South cooperation should also be given
a focus as South-South cooperation is being promoted, urging
developed countries to increase development aid to developing
countries.
As for China's role in South-South cooperation, Sha expressed
that though China still has many poor areas despite of its rapid
development, China is exerting much efforts to increase development
aid and help less developed countries to achieve economic and
social development.
"This is not only proved in the China-Africa cooperation, but
also in the cooperation between China and other developing
countries,"?Sha added.
Sha also told reporters that conditioned aid is "bad," which
will distort aid effectiveness, adding that Chinese aid is
unconditional.
He said China itself is also a beneficiary of South-South
cooperation since it has learned a lot of good experience from
other developing countries and accelerated its open and reform
process as well as economic and social development.
For his part, Leo Merores, the newly elected president of the
Economic and Social Council, hailed China, which respects other
developing countries, as an important player in South-South
cooperation.
Entitled "Trends in development cooperation: South-South and
Triangular cooperation and Aid effectiveness," the two-day
Symposium attracted over 140 participants from some 60 countries,
international agencies and private sectors.
(Xinhua News Agency, January 21, 2008)
