UNITED AS ONE

Have you ever heard the phrase “United as One?” There are many things we

can do as an individual. We often like doing tasks alone for it gives us sense of

peace, but have you ever tried cooperating with friends or companion? Cooperation

makes things easily done and would consume less time. Cooperation would also

bear a mutual trust and establish a strong foundation of relationship within both

parties. The topic I would introduce is the South – South cooperation. South – South

cooperation is the Union of countries participating in the Global south. Countries

belonging in the south are considered inferior compared to those countries in the

north, thus creating an alliance between each other which would later result in strong

bonds and unity. The cooperation would also be able to utilize their strengths and

compromise for their weaknesses.

To further explain, South – South cooperation was made in order to strengthen

countries within it politically, economically, and culturally. According to the United

Nations (“what does south-south cooperation means”, n.d) Its objectives are: (1)

Encourage and reinforce developing countries' self-reliance by enhancing their

innovative capacity to identify solutions and technical capabilities to their

development challenges and to devise the strategies needed to resolve them, (2)

Encourage and reinforce mutual self-reliance among developing countries through

the exchange of experiences leading to a greater understanding of common

problems and a broader access to the information available, (3) help and respond to

the needs and problems of the least developed countries.

The south countries obtained many benefits from the SSC and it was able to

boost their economy. South countries also contribute 40% in the global trade which
is a big number. Activities in the south has also been more occurrent and has

undergone major changes upon establishing the south – south cooperation. The

SSC also enabled the expansion of many economic opportunities in southern

countries which was able to reduce poverty. Available estimates show that the share

of South-South trade in developing countries’ services exports has risen from 16.5

percent in 2000 to about a third in 2010. (Priyadarshi, 2015)

The UNDP special unit for south – south cooperation mandate serves as a

guide. It links countries together and provide solutions to countries with problems, it

allows the coordination of UN focal points for the SSC and it supports all activities

and works of the SSC. The SSC activities include development forums, south report,

and United nations day of south-south cooperation. These activities allow the

monitoring of progress done by the SSC and countries within it.

In contrast with this, the South-South cooperation still has its negative and

disadvantageous effects. One example of this would be the Us dollar as the official

currency of the United states. Whenever the value of the US dollar changes, it

affects other countries’ currency as well (Gills, 2015) thus, it would be

disadvantageous for southern countries because they are the only one who will

experience the negative results of it. There have also been activism reports in the

global south. These activisms could pose threat to global peace and order. The

activism could also destroy the balance between cooperating countries of the world.

Threats are also expected as hidden agenda between nations occur. In line with this,

inequalities would always find its way in. the SSC was made in order to lift poor

countries and boost their economy, but it rather served as a stepping stone to those

already rich countries of the south to achieve more wealth.

 Upon knowing this, I have learned and was able to understand the positive and

negative effect of having a cooperation. Still, I do not clearly know the situation of the

Philippines. Considering that the Philippines is also one of the southern countries,

how did the Philippines benefited from this and what did it contribute to those of the

other countries? The topic concerning about the SSC also fogs my thoughts as to

why and how important it is. I am confused by the fact that even without the SSC, we

can still cooperate with the north and other countries.

The article which I read served as an eye opener to me. It was able to lighten

my vision and was able to educate me. I usually didn’t know about this cooperation

between countries. The only thing I knew was that there are agreements and terms

being made in improving one’s countries, but to my surprise, different cooperation

and organization exists. I also initially though that this south-south cooperation is a

good idea for improving and lifting poor countries in the south, but it turns out that it

also poses harm to poor countries of the south because of occurring inequalities.

On a second though, is the South-South cooperation really an essential to lift

those countries in poverty? Does the cooperation really do much or does the rich

and elite countries from the south take all the benefits of the cooperation? Knowing

that there are inequalities happening in the SSC, what concrete plans and

adjustments should be made in conquering and solving these inequalities? How can

we avoid these negative effects brought to us by selfish and hidden agendas? I

would also like to personally know what impacts it would cause upon stopping the

South-South cooperation, would it bring more positive or negative effects?

To sum it all up, the south-south cooperation Is inevitable and is needed.

Cooperation between southern countries is a must in lifting a poor country and in

order to achieve the independence we want from the global north. The objectives of

the SSC is to help poor countries of the south and cooperate with each other to

achieve the independence we want. Thus, the SSC is an important factor in

achieving that desired goal. Though SSC has many positive impacts, we must

always be careful to the negative impacts it brings. The main challenge of the SSC is

how can it possibly maintain the equality among members? Overall, The SSC is a

must if we want to be independent with the global south.

 REFERENCES:

Kevin Gray & Barry K. Gills (2016) South–South cooperation and the rise of the

Global South, Third World Quarterly, 37:4, 557-574, DOI:

10.1080/01436597.2015.1128817

Priyadarshi (2015). SOUTH-SOUTH TRADE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE

WORLD ECONOMY. Retrieved from https://internationalbanker.com/finance/south-

south-trade-and-its-implications-for-the-world-economy/

what does south-south cooperation mean, (n.d). retrieved from

https://www.un.org/en/observances/south-south-cooperation day#:~:text=South

%2DSouth%20cooperation%20is%20done,regional%2C%20intraregional%20or

%20interregional%20basis.