Recover South-South cooperation as a foreign policy axis

This week, our country will host the second United Nations High-Level Conference on South-South Cooperation (PABA + 40). This event, which takes place 40 years after the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, is in the context of a serious crisis of multilateralism and the process of regional integration, two essential pillars of the successful development of the South-South cooperation. and triangular.

As of 2003, Argentina's foreign policy has made South-South and triangular cooperation one of its priorities, considering it as a strategic tool for strengthening bilateral relations, regional integration and partnership with other countries. other developing countries.

This cooperative form of connection with the world has for horizon the consolidation of a more balanced, equitable, multilateral, global order that respects sovereign decisions.

In a world where one of the greatest challenges is to reduce growing inequalities and asymmetries, both regionally and globally, South-South cooperation is a key policy for this purpose, as it allows for a process of exchange of its best public policies, through: horizontal, common and consensual work.

In recent decades, the dynamics of international relations, both globally and regionally, have led developing countries to strengthen horizontal and triangular cooperation among countries of equal or lesser relative development, with the aim of coordinating actions aimed at productive transformation, through the transfer of technology, the opening of new markets, the education and training of human resources and other central issues for development.

Over the years, Argentina has become an important player and regional reference for the quality of the actions carried out, mainly through the Argentine Fund for Horizontal Cooperation (FO-AR).I am proud of his establishment in 1991, when I was director of the international organizations of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Worship.

The creation of the FO-AR responded to the need to establish and consolidate development partnerships with other countries in accordance with their national strategies and priorities, to strengthen the areas and mechanisms that would promote the development of partnerships. exchange of knowledge, technologies and best practices, as well as developing methodologies. and instruments to streamline technical badistance processes, by financing the sending of Argentine experts abroad.

In 2003, as part of a foreign policy that once again placed the defense of the national interest, regional integration and multilateralism among its priorities, we decided to deepen our relations and cooperation with Latin American countries. Together, they represented a market representing nearly 40% of our exports and the main destination for industrial products.

This integration policy has not only multiplied Argentina's actions in the region in strategic areas such as administration and governance, sustainable development and human rights, but also This allowed us to reach for the first time some countries of Central America and the Caribbean.

We are also developing actions with other regions such as Asia and Africa, and are formalizing triangular relationships aimed at collaborating with third countries with less than or equal relative development, by involving the FO-AR with international and international organizations. to other countries.

At the global level, we contribute to deepening the policy of cooperation by promoting the strengthening of multilateralism in the various discussion forums, with the aim of reaching consensus on positions that would ensure more effective north-south cooperation, aligned with the interests of developing countries.

In summary, during the governments of Néstor and Cristina Kirchner, Argentina's bilateral South-South cooperation in the bilateral field has improved significantly, both qualitatively and quantitatively. During the period 2003-2015, the resources, projects, countries, regions and institutions involved in Argentina were increased, while the extension of actions was extended. This policy applied to more than a thousand technical cooperation projects requiring the completion of nearly four thousand expert missions, which represents a significant increase over the average activity developed by FO.AR 'in 2003.

It is paradoxical that the host country of the conference has considerably reduced the budget allocated to the area of ​​international cooperation. and, therefore, the number and importance of actions. The foreign policy of the Cambiemos government seems to ignore the key role played by South-South cooperation at the bilateral, regional and global levels. There is an important consensus on the benefits of this integration mechanism, which has become increasingly important in recent years globally because of the growing complexity of the problems and challenges facing developing countries.

This conference is an excellent opportunity for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to review its current cooperation policy and adopt an approach that encourages greater and more effective contributions to achieving the development and poverty reduction goals, at the highest level. regional and global.

The author is a former Chancellor.