Section 2 Promoting Partnerships with Emerging Countries

To effectively utilize the assistance given by emerging donors in the development of developing countries, it is very important to enhance the partnership with emerging donors from the standpoints of both policy and implementation. Japan implements seminars, training, dialogue, and a variety of other approaches to strengthening partnerships with emerging donors that are on the rise, taking into consideration changes in the environment that surrounds development.

1. Support for Developing Countries to Become Donors

For example, in 2010, Japan held seminars in Tokyo and Hungary for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, for the purpose of providing support to enable those countries to become donors. In addition, Japan conducted training in Japan for Chinese individuals and organizations involved in development assistance. In both cases, Japan had the opportunity to promote understanding of Japan's aid policies, aid implementation structure, and efforts to increase the impact of assistance, etc., which emphasize developing countries' ownership of development and enhancement of capacity, to countries that in recent years have increased their importance as emerging donors.

2. Dialogue in the International Community

In addition, Japan encourages the participation of emerging donors in a variety of meetings regarding aid, to promote dialogue. The Asia Development Forum was held in Tokyo in June 2011, with in-depth discussions of the role of development assistance, taking into consideration relevant experiences in Asia. At the MDGs Follow-up Meeting held in Tokyo that same month, with China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and other emerging countries participating, it was confirmed that all related countries and organizations that are involved in development have the means to reduce poverty in the world, and that such countries have a responsibility to take action to move those efforts forward.

3. Triangular Cooperation

In addition to providing support to enable emerging countries to become donors, and to participate in a framework for coordination of international aid, Japan provides technical and financial support through triangular cooperation (See page 26) to enable these emerging countries to provide cooperation to less-developed countries (South-South cooperation). South-South cooperation itself is a type of cooperation that has a relatively long history, stretching back to the "Buenos Aires Plan of Action" that resulted from a meeting on South-South cooperation that was held by the UN in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in September 1978. However, even before that, Japan had already begun providing support for cooperation between Thailand and Laos in 1975, and has been a forerunner in triangular cooperation, with a significant history of cooperation.

The significance of triangular cooperation first includes the ability to utilize similarities in socio-economic environments and development stages, as well as compatibility of language and culture, to provide options for development that are suited to the recipient of assistance. This is effective in increasing the impact of the assistance on the recipient country.

Second, by providing cooperation to a third country while receiving assistance from Japan, the countries implementing assistance (emerging countries) are able to aim for independence as aid-giving countries, while absorbing knowledge and experience related to aid. This is beneficial to those emerging countries.

Third, the ability of Japan to spread the results of Japan's cooperation to third countries is helpful to Japan. The ability to apply the results of assistance to a certain country to other counties as well, and the ability to provide aid that has impact on a larger scale without increasing the amount of resources invested are also some of its merits.

In this way, partnership with emerging countries, particularly triangular cooperation, has significant meaning. Currently, Japan has concluded "partnership program"* agreement with 12 countries that provide South-South cooperation, and is implementing comprehensive support for South-South cooperation and cooperation to strengthen the ability to provide assistance.

Two recent examples of triangular cooperation are the "Zambia Investment Promotion Project-Triangle of Hope" and the "Mozambique Tropical Savannah Agriculture Development Project." In the former, from August 2009 to August 2012, Japanese experts who are responsible for management, direction, and control, etc., of the project, Malaysian consultants and local Zambian consultants are working together to promote direct investment from both domestic and foreign parties and to prepare an environment that is favorable to investors. Specifically, efforts include training for Zambia Development Agency staff members, improvement of the framework for policy and regulations related to improvement of the investment environment, formulation of a plan to attract investors in 12 fields, and improvement of the investment environment through building relationships with the private sector, etc.

Collaborating with Malaysia's SIRIM Berhad (formerly known as the Standards and Industiral Research Institute of Malaysia) to conduct training to promote small and medium-sized companies in African countries (Photo: Arase Sugawara/JICA)

In the latter, cooperation began in 2009 to build a sustainable agricultural development model that takes environmental protection into consideration, and to promote development of a competitive agricultural industry, farming villages, and regions, that have an awareness of the market. The purpose of this project is to take the experience gained over twenty years beginning in the 1970s when Japan and Brazil cooperated to transform Brazil's barren semi-desert Cerrado region into a large agricultural region, and apply that experience in Mozambique. Specifically, Japan transferred the land improvement technology and the technology related to improving agricultural productivity that had been accumulated through the development of agriculture in the Cerrado.

In the past, Japan has proactively used past cooperation for third countries, provided effective cooperation that utilizes similarities in development stages, and given support to enable emerging countries to become donors, etc. In the future, Japan will continue to promote partnership with emerging countries and aim for enhancement of ownership by countries providing South-South cooperation, and achievement of further development effect.

Main Text | Statictics and Reference Materials | Columns | Boxed Articles