pSecond Committee Dialogue

“Inter-regional cooperation: An enabler for the post 2015 development agenda”

Dr. Rima KhalafExecutive Secretary

October 31st, 2013- New York

South becoming global driver of growth for Developing Countries.

The Arab Region : Diversity and Complementarities

• Resource rich, vs. LDCs

• Aid donors vs. aid dependent

• Labor exporters vs. labor importers

• Conflict afflicted and post-conflict countries

• Only remaining occupation in the 21st century,

• Budding transformations to democracy

Traditional partnerships revisited and new inter-regional partnerships considered

The Arab region: diversity and multiplicity of actors

Abundance of opportunities and challenges for cooperation within the region and with other regions

Financial Flows in the past 30 years

Opportunities for Arab-South Cooperation

Opportunities for Arab-South Cooperation (cont.)

• Asia claims over 80% of all South-South trade

• Shares in South-South exports in 2010: 6% Africa and 10% Americas.

• Asia exports manufactured goods to Africa, the Americas and Arab regions export commodities to Asia

• Lack of technological transfer exacerbates the lack of technological diversification, which increases the development divide even within the South

Inter-regional imbalances

Addressing these imbalances should be put a priority on the political agenda

MDGS SHORTCOMINGS• Lack of clarity “on how to tailor

global targets to national realities and regional dynamics”

• Insufficient attention to the conditions of vulnerable groups

• Qualitative dimensions of service provision, such as health and education not addressed

• Implementation problems: including disregard to national specific conditions

• Weaknesses in achieving an effective global partnership for development

Regional perspective in the post-2015 dev. agenda

REGIONAL COMMISSIONS• Consultations to ensure regional voices

heard and regional priorities &aspirations captured in post-2015 development agenda debate

• Report “A Regional Perspective on the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda” to identify regional priority areas post -2015 .

• RCs can contribute to the global sustainable development agenda and the agenda could benefit from the RC's experience and assets.

ARAB REGION PRIORITIES• Economic sustainability • Social sustainability • Environmental sustainability• Governance & institutions

The role of Regional Commissions

Regional Commissions

•regional priorities are integrated into global development debates•capacity-building •Convene regional actors •Offer space to share lessons learned •inter-regional knowledge networks •Inter-regional approach to global governance imbalances•inter-regional dialogue

High Level Meetings Series: Challenges and Opportunities of Democratic Transitions

• Five Regional Commissions mobilized their expertise and networks for two high level meetings (January 2012 and February 2013) to address the challenges and opportunities of Democratic Transitions to support Arab countries going through this delicate phase.

• Interconnections between different aspects of democratic transitions – Chile– Slovakia– Mauritania– South Africa

• Transition to democracy is a long, drawn out and multidimensional process

• A favorable regional and international context can support a democratic transition, while unfavorable conditions can undermine such transitions and maintain totalitarian regimes

High Level Meetings Series: Challenges and Opportunities of Democratic Transitions (Cont.)

• Promotion of inter-regional cooperation underpinned – By adherence to globally held values of human rights, good

governance and freedoms– By alignment to regional priorities: economic, social and

environmental sustainability, democratic governance and public sector accountability

• Focus on key sectors while developing intra-regional body of knowledge for the design, implementation and evaluation of cooperation programs

• Addressing inter-regional imbalances and establish a genuine partnership among countries, based on our citizen’s aspirations: freedom, dignity and justice

• Code of Conduct to address imbalances among regions, but not emulating harmful patterns of interaction from the past

Inter-regional cooperation

Thank youPlease visit: www.regionalcommissions.org

to download presentation