Welcome to the South-South Global Thinkers e-discussion focusing on "Investing in the SDGs through South-South and triangular cooperation - proven policies, legal practices and challenges" to be held form 25 April to 9 May 2018.
The e-Discussion will be moderated by Professor Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, Research & Information System for Developing Countries (RIS)-Network for Southern Think Tanks (NeST).
The aim of the e-discussion is to highlight policies, practices and challenges to stimulate and enable South-South investments that are contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In particular, the e-discussion is expected to identify the following:
1) Policy and legal practices that have proven to stimulate and enable South-South investments for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. It should aim to identify both what has worked and what has not worked in terms of stimulating and enabling South-South investments. In terms of good policies and legal practices, these could be related to investment agreements, regional integration efforts (regional and sub-regional frameworks), public-private partnerships, regulatory reforms and the importance of mobilizing venture capital.
2) Existing challenges that need to be overcome to stimulate and enable South-South investments for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. It is expected that the contributions will highlight certain legal issues that act as obstacles to promoting South-South investments for the achievement of the SDGs. The e-discussion should also highlight risks associated with South-South investments as well as ways in which these risks might be mitigated with controls and compliance measures.
3) In addition to highlighting good practices and challenges in terms of stimulating South-South investments, the e-Discussion will also aim to highlight good practices regarding the Development Compact framework, e.g., leveraging technology, capacity building and grants for SSC.
A summary of the e-Discussion will feed into the discussions at the event "Investing in the Sustainable Development Goals through South-South and Triangular Cooperation" to be held from 15-16 May in Prague, co-organized by UNDP, the UNOSSC in partnership with Yingke law firm. After the event, a scoping paper will be developed that will serve as a first step in initiating the comprehensive research on the trends, policies, laws, challenges and enabling factors for South-South investment and its contribution to the SDGs.
Dear Victor, many thanks for sharing your perspective on the recent South-South investment event, including your emphasis on the important role played by local governments and civil society organizations, as well as the need to identify mechanisms to collaborate with and mobilize resources from the private sector.