Brussels 18 April, 2012: An outline of initial actions aimed towards a system for South-South (SSC) and Triangular cooperation (TrC) has been finalised by a working group of multilateral partners, including the ACP Group, after a key summit on the issue last month.

Among other initiatives, the Building Block on South-South and Triangular Cooperation will look at conducting a mapping exercise of current forums, models and mechanisms of SSC and TrC, with an aim of producing a “Menu of Practices” and a set of referential guidelines for SSC and TrC.

More broadly, the document draws on four major areas of work, including (i) Developing capacities that can allow countries’ involvement in SSC and TrC; (ii) Promoting “learning activities” from Middle Income countries and other Southern partners; (iii) Learning from the knowledge sharing methods used by multilateral organisations and improving access to this information; and (iv) Forming a monitoring and evaluation framework on the contribution of SSC and TrC to global development.

Each area of work has its own recommended actions, key messages and “champions”.

The Building Block met on 5 – 6 March in Brussels for the first time since its set up at the 4^th High Level Conference on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea. The aim of the Building Blocks is to enable development partners and organisations to unite behind pressing development issues and to make concentrated efforts to progress these areas. Since the Busan Forum, the ACP Group has officially become a part of the Building Block on South-South and Triangular cooperation.

“With our 79 member States from Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific, the ACP is a living example of South-South cooperation, with all its challenges as well as opportunities… As a complementary to North-South cooperation, it provides a framework for deepening the ties between developing countries, sharing knowledge and best practices, and helping to structure a brave new world,” said the Chair of the ACP Committee of Ambassadors, H.E Shirley Skerritt Andrew.

She added that the Triangular approach could also help to consolidate overall aid effectiveness and global development based on shared principles.

The first Building Block meeting was spearheaded by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) and the Government of Columbia, and co-organised by the ACP Group. More than 140 delegates representing governments, multilateral and regional organisations, and civil society groups jointly discussed key issues on the implementation of the SSC and TrC agenda.

The outcome document of the meeting puts forward next steps to take, including moving forward on the outlined areas of work, improving the Building Block document presented in Busan to include clear objectives and work plans, and continuing talks on modalities, structure and financing, with a view to adopt a decision by the end of June.