While industrialised nations have traditionally taken the lead in coordinating development, emerging powers like South Africa, Brazil and India are increasingly assuming a role as providers of technical cooperation, too. Is this a welcome conversion? We’d like your views.
Last month, the South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, announced the creation of a US-style development aid agency to boost African development. The South African government has already approved the South African Development Partnership Agency (SADPA), which, according to reports, should be set up before the end of March 2011.
Through SADPA, South Africa seeks to play a more prominent role in economic and humanitarian projects and to contribute to institutional and capacity development. The existing African Renaissance Fund will be integrated in SADPA.
The creation of SADPA is just the latest example of an emerging power seeking to strengthen their international relations by assuming the role of a technical cooperation provider.
The Indian Technical-Economic Cooperation Programme (I-TEC) is a division of the Ministry of External Affairs and centres on the provision of expertise, advisory services and secondment of staff as part of the country’s policy to interlock foreign, economic and development cooperation objectives. Although set up 1964, I-TEC’s importance has grown in tandem with India’s maturing regional influence. And, more recently, I-TEC established ties with resource-rich countries in central Asia and Africa.
In South America, Brazil is spending increasing sums on humanitarian aid and technical cooperation in less developed countries through the Agência Brasileira de Cooperação (ABC), which is part of the Brazilian Ministry for External Relations. ABC coordinates, implements and accompanies technical cooperation projects provided to partners in Asia, South America and Africa. It also coordinates the multi-lateral assistance and bi-lateral programmes received from industrialised countries.
Next to technical cooperation agencies and programmes, there are various development orientated investment programmes and funds, such as the Kuwait Fund for Arabic Economic Development. In China, the Department of Aid to Foreign Countries, within in the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, coordinates and inspects investments, development assistance as well as humanitarian projects.
Such an expanded role for these emerging powers can raise questions. Though the financial and technical assistance they provided is often relatively small when compared to the packages provided by the traditional donors, their cooperation needs to be programmed and administered by recipient countries and – similar to the fragmented cooperation provided by some traditional donors – adds to coordination costs. Often, such assistance is provided in parallel to the activities of other donors and can further undermine efforts to enhance aid effectiveness and the principles enshrined in the Paris Declaration.
On the other hand, the assistance provided by these new development partners can have comparative advantages. These new partners can mobilise regional experts that are more familiar with the cultural and political conditions in neighbouring countries. They can also help in starting up regional cooperation and integration that is increasingly discussed as a potential driver for development.
Research about the effects of technical and economic cooperation provided by emerging countries is limited. As such the verdict is still out on whether this is a good or bad development. What are your observations, views and experiences?
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