A Forum at Expo 2020 Dubai provided an opportunity for global actors to exchange knowledge and experiences in South-South and Triangular Cooperation.
On 18-19 January 2022, Rwanda Cooperation, APC Colombia and the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) hosted a Forum at EXPO 2020: “Harnessing South-South and Triangular Cooperation: How to accelerate contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. The Forum provided an opportunity for global actors to exchange knowledge and experiences in South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTrC). It provided opportunities to explore potentials for enhanced collaboration to achieve the objectives of the2030 Agenda.
Knowledge exchange is not only a crucial component of SSTrC, but an imperative to its success. It allows actors with shared contexts to build on each other’s experiences in contributing to the global development agenda. While the BAPA+40 outcome document highlighted the importance of learning from one another, in practice there are gaps that prevent effective up-scaling of initiatives with tangible results at global, national and local level.
In this regard, panellists positively highlighted the shift from transfer to co-creation and co-investment of knowledge in international cooperation. The plurality of approaches towards knowledge interactions from South-South providers is a chance for other actors to learn from and to create effective links on the local, national and global level of policy. The sessions allowed various national and international development cooperation bodies to share how they integrate knowledge sharing into policies and practice.
Currently, one of DIE’s postgraduate research teams analyses transnational actors and modalities of knowledge interactions. All partner organisations of this research project contributed their expertise to the EXPO event: the German GIZ, Rwanda Cooperation, Research and Information System for Developing Countries based in New Delhi, and UNDP’s Policy Centre in Seoul.
