CEVAP:

The origins of the South-South cooperation can be traced back to the 1950s. The end of the Second World War as well as the process of decolonization provided an impetus for identifying the problems of the world’s underdeveloped regions. These newly
independent countries were neither industrialized nor socialist, and they were struggling to overcome the colonial heritage and weak institutions along with the state incapacities. There was heavy pressure on newly independent countries to take side either with the Western capitalist world or with the socialist camp during the heydays of the Cold War. Many developing countries, especially those emerging from the colonial rule, were also questioning both the international capitalist system and its economic structure. Developing countries came to a general understanding that they would gain more if they act together rather than being allied to a superpower.

The Bandung Conference took place between 18 and 24 April 1955 in Indonesia where the newly independent nations recognized the importance of promoting economic cooperation as a bloc. Twenty-nine countries representing more than half of the world’s population at the time, sent delegates to the Bandung Conference. The Final Communiqué of the Bandung Conference laid out the desire for economic cooperation and growth among developing nations, along with an agreement to provide technical assistance to one another, thus facilitating the exchange of ideas, experts, and specific training.

The Bandung Conference became a turning point in history; it had a profound influence on future international cooperation among “Southern” countries. The pace continued with the foundation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in 1961 and the Group of 77 (G-77) in 1964. Moreover, the UN established the UNCTAD to assist the South in the area of economic and trade policy. At the second UNCTAD conference in 1968, G-77 countries had identified themselves as a political bloc. While the politics of the Group would prove difficult to manage, they undoubtedly formed a voting majority within the General Assembly (Gilman, 2015).