The inter-regional expert meeting on the measurement of South-South cooperation, organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA), in collaboration with the UN Regional Commissions, and other partners is held in Qatar, Doha, from 4 to 6 June 2024.

This meeting is part of the United Nations Development Account project on Quantifying South-South Cooperation to Mobilize Funds for the Sustainable Development Goals. The first Expert Meeting held in Brasilia, in July 2023, launched the project and discussed implementation of the global, voluntary Framework to Measure South-South Cooperation, developed in a joint effort by the countries of the Global South. The Framework is currently being refined and will be presented in Qatar, through a Manual, a step-by-step guidance supporting countries to fill the Framework with data.

The event aims to foster dialogue and empower Southern countries to collect and report their own data from country-owned systems. This effort helps to target national policy action and bolster strategic management of development support in the global South.

The target audience will include national, regional and international experts on South-South cooperation and its measurement from development cooperation agencies, statistical offices, and ministries. For the high-level segment, senior officials from countries, regional and international organizations, project partners, and the academic community are invited to discuss and agree on strategies for integration of the Framework to strengthen South-South cooperation.

4 jun 2024

၀ 09:00-12:15
Preparatory expert meeting
Participants: Experts from pioneering and pilot countries, UNCTAD and Regional Commissions
- Introduction.
- Experience from applying the Manual to Measure South-South Cooperation: pilot testing by pioneering countries and resulting reporting to SDG indicator 17.3.1, refinement needs.
- Open questions on the Manual: concepts and methodology; discussion and decision on immediate solutions.
- Areas for further improvement and changes to the Manual, based on issues to be researched and developed, including through pilot testing within the project.
- The use of the Manual and related tools within the project and beyond: national and regional perspectives.

၀ 14:00-16:00
High-level event: Strengthening the voice of Southern countries and the role of data
Moderator: ESCWA
Opening addresses by the host country, Qatar, and the United Nations entities. The high-level panel will debate identifying ways of integrating South-South cooperation and its measurement in future research, development, and policy agendas, and consider how to enhance the voice of the global South in global development debates, including with the data of the South, and consider how the new SDG indicator will help to manage and mobilize resources for sustainable development.
Potential participants of the panel: high-level representatives of:
  • Qatar
  • India
  • Brazil
  • People's Republic of China
  • The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)
  • The United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • The United Nations Office on South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)

၀ 16:30-18:00
Modalities of a global effort on measuring South-South cooperation and capacity building
Discuss the global project, and arrangements for strengthening the collaboration of the global South to ensure a strong voice of the South, including using the Framework as a common tool.
Potential participants of the joint high-level and technical-experts discussion are experts from:
  • Mexico
  • Egypt
  • The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)
  • The Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB)
  • The United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

5 - 6 jun 2024

၀ 9:00-17:00
Interregional capacity building workshop on quantifying South-South cooperation
- Concepts of the Framework: financial and non-financial modalities (Groups A, B, C).
- National ecosystems for South-South cooperation: discussing national set-ups of relevant agencies and stakeholders; forming a national system for data collection and reporting; requirements for a well-functioning system.
- Tools and steps for data collection: empowering national authorities to pool data from national sources; combining these data to the Framework; validation of data and quality.
- Analysing data: Methods and approaches of analysing South-South cooperation flows for multiple policy uses in countries.
- Disseminating and reporting statistics: reporting of data on South-South cooperation to UNCTAD; including to inform SDG indicator 17.3.1, using the reporting table and step-by-step process of aggregating from national database.
- Exchange of experience: building the community of practice among involved countries and experts by sharing experience and good practices.
- Next steps: discussion on future tools and solutions, including information systems, to enable national data collection, analysis, and reporting; upcoming project activities; step-by-step guidance for pilot testing of the Framework.

Participants:
• Pilot countries of the project: technical experts receiving training
• Additional countries, if funding available, interested to quantify South-South cooperation and prepare for future reporting towards SDG indicator 17.3.1: technical experts
• Facilitators and trainers from pioneering countries and regional/international organizations
• Project entities UNCTAD, UN Regional Commissions, other stakeholders