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The
Latin American Economic System, SELA, has achieved the implementation
of numerous TCDC activities and programmes within the region over
the past 20 years. Rosario Diaz, chief of Technical Cooperation,
SELA, examines this legacy of progress, and reflects on the future
of the modality in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The
countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have an extensive background
in the area of intraregional cooperation, particularly as it is
channeled through multilateral cooperation and integration initiatives
and schemes at the regional and sub-regional level. This has led
to the growth of numerous cooperation precedents with significant
potential for future developments in TCDC.
These
precedents are particularly valid at present owing to the emphasis
now placed on regional cooperation as a tool contributing to surmounting
the crisis affecting the region.
Articles
3, 4 and 5 of the Panama Convention, establishing the Latin American
Economic System (SELA) in 1975, expressly provided for the promotion
of intraregional cooperation aimed at speeding up the economic and
social development of its member States.
The
Latin American Economic System has since become an innovative and
forward-looking institution among developing countries in the area
of regional cooperation. This is largely as a result of the manner
in which it was conceived and its modes of function.
The
Conference of Buenos Aires in 1978 made it possible, within the
context of the Latin American Council of SELA, to address the need
to carry forth actions at two clearly separate levels: the formulation
of a joint Latin American position vis-à-vis the World Plan for
Action to be adopted by the Conference; and the establishment of
new mechanisms for the strengthening of cooperation with other developing
regions while identifying specific sectors towards which Latin American
and Caribbean efforts should be focused. The Plan of Action represented
substantial efforts at the global level aiming at standardizing,
organizing and providing fresh stimuli for development as well as
revaluing experiences within developing countries and pointing out
salient political factors affecting action. In accordance with the
objectives set for it by the Plan, TCDC has been able to contribute
elements for solving the problems emerging in development, and has
facilitated full and independent usage of national resources and
capacities. This creates an environment that produces the conditions
for integral, self-sustained and independent development. The mechanism
of TCDC represents an attempt to go beyond the traditional concept
of technical assistance and aid, based on the notion of the contributing
provider rather than the benefiting recipient.
Technical
cooperation thus becomes the fundamental building block for a much
broader and more complex mutual cooperation effort among developing
countries, and for an underlying development approach based on self-esteem
and collective effort, all of which has been conducive to the formulation
of policies and decisions grouping economic cooperation in the developing
world. The decisions reached by the Technical Cooperation Conference
at Buenos Aires covered the recommendations to be applied at the
sub-regional and regional levels. In the specific case of Latin
America and the Caribbean, SELA was singled out as the adequate
mechanism for their execution, by using various modalities that
allow for generating specific cooperation initiatives at the regional
level.
The
innovativeness of these approaches, the diversity and wide scope
of the issues and interests involved, and the incipient stage of
the actions to be launched, made it mandatory to establish priorities
for implementation. A selective and gradual approach was adopted
in order to allow for the identification of issues, and within these
issues, the finding interested parties for TCDC, as well as determining
which programmes and projects could be applied and implemented over
the short term.
SELA
is regional cooperation effort which promotes and provides impetus
to linkage and strengthens regional and sectoral schemes and groups
acting in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its work needs to be
continually promoted at the level of linkage and cooperation with
other developing countries, and with groups of countries and regions.
Subsequent to the Buenos Aires Plan, the activities carried out
and the joint positions adopted at international forums and vis-à-vis
third countries permitted the gradual consolidation of a permanent
system for consultation and coordination regarding TCDC within the
framework of SELA. Inside this framework, governments have been
able to make improvements and achieve advancements in the concept
of technical cooperation among developing countries, while also
introducing and transferring experiences in order to upgrade the
functional modalities of TCDC.
Recent
years have been characterized by a b effort to launch TCDC
actions within the organizations that make up the United Nations
system, as well as within other organizations and institutions that
focus on encouraging development activities. In addition to the
actions executed by each of the aforementioned organizations, countries
are also supported, within the framework of SELA, by the Coordination
Mechanism of Regional Organizations and Fora, which seeks to provide
support to the decisions agreed upon by the Directors of Technical
Cooperation of the region at their annual meetings.
As
in the past, the current international situation continues to require
the strengthened presence and participation of Latin America and
the Caribbean in international economic negotiations. Strengthened
participation increases the region's negotiating capacity through
the creation of its own development tools, and allows modifications
in the Latin American and Caribbean region's participation in the
system of international economic relations. In this respect, it
was deemed necessary that, within the framework of SELA, joint positions
be adopted vis-à-vis the issues stemming from international cooperation
for development, the treatment of which at specific international
forums directly affects the vital interests of Latin America and
the Caribbean.
Over
the past twenty years, the SELA secretariat has achieved the implementation
of various activities and programmes, which have contributed to
the development of TCDC throughout the region. The actions which
have been institutionalized and consolidated within SELA include:
holding annual meetings of Directors of International Technical
Cooperation (TCDC National Focal Points); reasserting the important
role played by the processes of consultation, coordination and concentration
of their policies; taking actions relating to international, bilateral
and joint or regional technical cooperation as a means to deal with
the different events that appear in the international political
economy; and making optimum usage of the technical and financial
resources available in the region. As previously pointed out, the
initial objectives sought by the Buenos Aires Plan of Action remain
applicable. However, these objectives need to be able to stand on
a realistic basis in order for countries to implement specific actions
- taking into account the fact that the world socio-economic situation
has deteriorated significantly.
A
positive change has been detected in the attitudes adopted by developing
countries as seen in improvements in the quantity and quality of
TCDC activities. This shift generates a favorable climate for integral
development in the years that lie ahead, and was spurred on by the
countries' acceptance of the reality of their region's socioeconomic
deterioration and the dwindling of traditional cooperation sources.
During
the ninth session of the High-level Committee responsible for reviewing
technical cooperation among developing countries (held in New York
in June 1995), discussions focused mainly on the new directions
for TCDC. The report submitted by the Special Unit for TCDC (SU/TCDC)
of the UNDP recommended that, in the future, TCDC should adopt a
more strategic focus supporting initiatives in a stipulated number
of high priority sectors, such as trade and investment, debt, poverty
relief, production and employment, macroeconomic policy coordination
and aid management.
The
SELA secretariat has been playing a very active role particularly
in the area of trade, and in this regard, was very active in the
Uruguay Round. The secretariat recently convened a meeting to analyze
new trade issues, specifically the issue of trade and the environment.
Likewise, it has plans to carry out work on policies in the area
of competitiveness and investment, labour regulations, immigration
and social issues, as well as the issue of regional trade. In addition,
the SELA secretariat has been making progress on New Guidelines
of International Macroeconomic Coordination. In connection with
this issue, the SELA secretariat convened a dialogue of high-level
government officials for the purpose of examining the most significant
trends that are being shaped in the restructuring and redefinition
of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade
Organization and the United Nations. SELA and the countries of the
region hope from this to determine the status of the world economic
and social system and its impact at the level of national and international
policies of the Latin American and Caribbean countries.
SELA
has recognized the potential offered by TCDC as a mechanism for
strengthening cooperative relations between the member States of
SELA. It was acknowledged that there has been a substantial increase
in the capacity of the Focal Points to manage cooperation, particularly
TCDC. This increased capacity is evidenced in increasingly improved
quality of the negotiated bilateral programmes, (characterized by
a higher level of rationality and reality) and leading to increases
in resource flows to the region for TCDC.
An
analysis of the achievements made to date clearly indicates that
significant progress has been made by the Latin American and Caribbean
region in varied fields. Nevertheless, a long road remains to be
traveled. This implies that TCDC can no longer be treated as an
isolated instrument, but instead needs to be conceived as an essential
and basic tool linking interactive processes between countries of
the region and beyond - that is, with the countries of other developing
regions. This objective can be achieved by harmonizing trade policies
and economic policies.
Likewise,
an attempt must be made to use TCDC as an element of a global strategy
that facilitates the treatment of those larger issues identified
by SELA as priorities for the region's economic and social development.
To this end, the work will be oriented towards the execution of
actions and projects of a regional nature, and which generate the
benefits required by countries on an individual basis adapted to
the needs and potential present in each of them. The challenge in
this respect lies in the hands of SELA, which will need to launch
this new cooperation strategy in order to thus increase its accomplishments
as the Regional Focal point for TCDC. SELA's achievements, it should
be added, have been a source of encouragement for other developing
regions. Furthermore, in the framework of the meetings of Directors
of International Technical Cooperation, permanent reflective exercises
have been carried out. These exercises have not been limited exclusively
to TCDC; they have also addressed international technical cooperation,
and in this respect, the following conclusions were reached:
-
That international technical cooperation in general and TCDC in
particular are tools that provide support to plans, programmes,
and projects for national development and foreign policy of member
States;
-
That international cooperation continues to progressively decline,
particularly with regards to Latin America and the Caribbean;
-
That conditionalities are rising in negotiations for cooperation
programmes. The most apparent of these conditionalities are of an
economic nature, those relating to development models, political
conditionalities and those relating to specific sectoral problems;
-
That cooperation policy creates a background for a sustainable development
model, placing emphasis on human resource development, including
private sector initiatives. At present this renders our countries'
participation in international cooperation more complex.
In
the light of the previously cited elements, and clearly aware of
the limitations facing our National Focal Points which are in charge
of executing international technical cooperation and TCDC activities,
it was agreed:
-
To ensure that there are adequate national, institutional and financial
counterparts in order to achieve the effective and efficient execution
of development programmes backed by international cooperation;
-
To perfect, in accordance with the legislation in force in each
of the countries, the participation mechanisms of the different
national actors in international cooperation programmes, such as
non-governmental organizations, cooperation networks for common
interests, the private sector, universities, and scientific and
technical institutions.
-
To improve national cooperation management systems by establishing
stable and coherent management schemes throughout the region, creating
professional work teams for the cooperation systems and treating
the differing characteristics of the management systems of the countries
of the region.
-
To insist that it is necessary that the selection of cooperation
projects, by the cooperating actors, be based not only on the criterion
of excellence but on their relevance thus making it possible to
address the problems of greatest urgency;
-
To upgrade negotiating systems for international cooperation, exchanges
of information with different sources, and, for this purpose, to
harmonize programming methodologies by cooperation source; design
policy allowing the countries of the region as a whole to continue
both their participation and their enjoyment of a share of the benefits
generated through the system of international cooperation.
Furthermore,
the member States were urged to implement the following recommendations
in the area of TCDC regional strategy:
(a)
In connection with the Focal Points' institutional aspect:
-
Continue to support and upgrade the training of human resources
linked to the management of international technical cooperation.
-
Press for support by Governments for the strengthening of tools
for the implementation of TCDC in legal, financial and procedural
aspects.
(b)
In connection with management capacity:
-
Reiterated the need to harmonize technical cooperation information
systems available in the various countries of the region, the United
Nations system (CTPD-INRES) and the regional information system
for TCDC offers and needs (INFOSELA), in order to achieve compatibility
of criteria and avoid duplicity of efforts.
(c)
In connection with financing:
-
Adapt the principle of shared costs of TCDC to the development level
of the different countries, aiming towards the objective of having
a type of cooperation that allows execution with solidarity, thus
allowing the lesser developed countries of the region to participate
adequately in the programmes that use this cooperation modality.
-
Implement support mechanisms for obtaining financial resources as
real national counterparts in international cooperation projects
in general and TCDC in particular.
-
Maximize the usage of the triangulation mechanism with industrialized
countries and international organizations.
-
Create and/or strengthen TCDC umbrella projects with funds of the
national indicative planning figures of the UNDP and/or other financial
resources.
(d)
Promote closer linkage between TCDC and ECDC.
-
A serious effort needs to be made in order that a diversity of private
and public actors may undertake a greater role in the definition
and execution of varied cooperation programmes. This is especially
important in those spheres in which the State lacks experience or
has indicated that it is not a competent manager. These difficulties
need to be overcome so that cooperation may follow the right trail
and fulfill its true objective. Let us not forget that cooperation
is not an end in itself.
For
our region, the fundamental objective should be to achieve important
strides on this trail towards development. In this respect, the
achievements should be measured by the benefits at the human level
and not on the basis of economic indexes. It should therefore be
kept in mind that there is not automatic link between economic development
and human development. Therefore, in order to avoid the bitter episodes
of our past, the right priorities must encompass not only growth
in numerical terms but also the abolition of extreme poverty and
effective participation in the international economy.
The
past 15 years have exposed us to sufficient experiences from which
to draw important lessons of extreme relevance for Latin America
and the Caribbean. The first lesson for the region is that it should
find solutions to problems and face challenges with its own potential,
turning to its own resources and always keeping in mind its limitations.
In this respect, it is important to emphasize the cooperation provided
by countries of the region with relatively higher levels of development
as well as that available through the TCDC mechanism, an important
cooperation tool for Latin America and the Caribbean characterized
by the essence of solidarity which needs to be disseminated among
the contributing countries and organizations.
The
second lesson to be learned is that a minimum level of definition
and coherence must be laid down in terms of the road to achieving
human development, economic growth and effective institutional structures.
The tasks relating to the concentration of international cooperation,
in the framework of development and the cooperation process, are
directed much more towards: incorporating marginal sectors into
the productive process; the development of human resources; the
broadening of the business sector by supporting microenterprises
and small- and medium-sized enterprises; the quest for forms of
association between the State and society in order to comply with
these objectives; the decentralization of management, economic and
business activities; and the modernization of the State.
To
conclude these thoughts I would like to refer to a statement made
by the Central American Action Committee for Economic and Social
Development (CADESCA) in its final report. CADESCA pointed out that
external cooperation always involves a political action and that
technical efforts for cooperation cannot be severed from the political
considerations which spur these efforts. On the other hand, it is
not possible to develop technical and financial cooperation unless
it is linked to political, trade and cultural relations, creating
financial windows with these contributors. Cooperation is always
of a higher standard when it is recognizes and awards respect to
its source or contributors, viewing these as genuine political actors
that can agree on shared objectives. And these common objectives,
which serve as the foundation for the financial and technical agreement,
also permeate the sense of the well-merited respect felt by the
beneficiaries towards the contributors.
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