Civil society has placed high hopes on South-South Cooperation being founded on solidarity against colonialism and the principles of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, equality of all nations, abstention from intervention or interference in the internal affairs of another country, respect for the right of each nation to defend itself, and the promotion of mutual interest and cooperation, among others. Despite its highly progressive roots and principles, SSC has remained a government-to-government affair with

South-South Cooperation emerged in the 1950s in the context of the common struggle of former colonies for genuine independence and peace. It started with the Bandung Conference in 1955 organized by Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Pakistan participated in by 29 newly independent countries from Asia and Africa. In the midst of increasing conflict between the world’s major powers, these countries united to maintain their independence from these competing camps and engage in mutual

ADB’s newly-published Strategy 2030 is just a continuation and rehash of the failed Strategy 2020 released in 2008. After a decade of implementation, ADB acknowledges that the long-standing and new challenges and problems in the region have remained unaddressed, and are even getting worse. ADB refers to the remaining 326 million poor (measured by the USD 1.90 poverty line); the rising inequality amidst growth; and the negative impacts of globalisation on inequality. Yet, ADB still

Having mobilized immense resources for and intervened significantly in most aspects of its developing member countries’ (DMCs) economies and policies, the Asian Development Bank (ADB)has been purported to be the region’s leading development financial institution for poverty eradication. In its recent public perception survey, it takes pride for being perceived as an institution that “continues to have a positive impact on the lives of the poor in the Asia and Pacific region” as it “helps

Bangkok, Thailand – Resources allocated for development should be used effectively to achieve internationally-agreed sustainable development goals (SDGs). This was the message that members of the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) echoed loud and clear during their self-organized side event at the Asia Pacific People’s Forum on Sustainable Development (APPFSD). These resources (called Official Development Assistance (ODA) or simply ‘aid’ allocated by governments for poverty eradication in developing countries) will only fulfil its purpose

At its recent Senior Level Meeting (SLM), the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC)1 reviewed progress and charted a course on how to advance effective development cooperation (EDC). The result: a mixed picture. On the one hand, there is significant progress in terms of quality, inclusivity and use of SDGs in developing country and development partners’ planning. The Global Partnership also instituted a new way of cooperating among stakeholders, including the expansion of leadership