Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid, on Wednesday, reiterated the commitment of Maldives to increase cooperation between regional and international partners in the developing world, establish partnerships and explore beneficial economic opportunities.
The foreign minister made the remarks during his national statement at the Second High-Level UN Conference on South-South Cooperation (BAPA+40), currently ongoing in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The conference will build on the previous achievements of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA) which was adopted in 1978.
Minister Shahid emphasized the progress achieved in the 40 since the launch of BAPA. He stated that cooperation between developing countries currently fueled the growth of the world economy and play an increasingly significant role in global trade, especially in new and emerging markets.
Recognizing that Maldives had traditionally received immense benefits from North-South cooperation in the form grants provided by developed countries, Minister Shahid added that, with Maldives' graduation from the list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in 2011 and subsequent classification as a higher middle-income country, new developmental approaches are necessary.
In my speech at #BAPA40 this afternoon I said that “the future of South-South cooperation should not follow the past trend of North-South cooperation. It should instead be based on solidarity, equality, and mutual respect” pic.twitter.com/hNMMJ5fHdt
— Abdulla Shahid 🎈 (@abdulla_shahid) March 20, 2019
As the influence of markets in the 'Global South' or the developing world increases, the minister said that Maldives would benefit from pursuing frameworks and platforms such as triangular cooperation, to achieve economic goals and attain comparative advantages in international trade.
South-South cooperation is a broad framework of collaboration among countries of the global South in the political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and technical domains.
Minister Shahid was accompanied by Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the UN Dr Ali Naseer Mohamed and Maldivian Ambassador to Germany Ahmed Latheef.
The foreign minister will hold discussions with representatives of other countries and has plans to attend BAPA+40 in order to consolidate bilateral relations and enhance the diplomatic outreach of Maldives.
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