Key Issues
South-South trade has been showing dynamic expansion in the past decade, surpassing $2 trillion in 2006, with the volume of exports showing a three-fold increase in 1995-2006, accounting for 17 per cent of world trade and 46 per cent of developing countries' total merchandise trade. Despite regional variations, there are emerging signs of growing interregional trade, reflecting the new geography of world trade, with several developing countries emerging as engines of global trade and economic growth.
The emergence of a new South has created new opportunities and challenges to developing and developed countries in the context of the globalization. This provides a significant window of opportunity to make the dynamism of South-South trade contribute to positive economic and social development.
Purposes
- Follow up the South Summit decisions.
- Take stock of lessons learned from successful stories in the South, including through strengthened South-South trade, investment, trade logistics and financing.
- Discuss policy options - in the context of national, regional and interregional frameworks - for making new opportunities arising from the South-South trade expansion sustainable and contribute to development.
- Discuss ways to strengthen regional and global institutions and instruments (e.g. transport networks) to support South-South trade expansion, and to ensure its development implications.
- Identify UNCTAD's role in further promoting South-South cooperation.
Expected outcomes
- Clearer understanding of the magnitude and impact of the new geography of world trade towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
- International consensus on actions by UNCTAD - as well as policy coordination in the context of South-South, North-South and South-South-North triangular development cooperation - to help South-South trade and investment expansion promote economic and social development for all.