• by Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser
• Monday, January 09, 2012
• Inter Press Service

South-South and triangular cooperation, backed by adequate funding, are key tools for tackling the development challenges of our time. But South-South cooperation only complements and does not replace North-South cooperation. All such partnerships are particularly pertinent given the challenges facing our global economy and sustainable development, writes Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, Ambassador from Qatar and current President of the United Nations General Assembly.

In this analysis, the author writes that of these challenges, guaranteeing food security for all is paramount. Around the world, almost 925 million people go to bed hungry each night, and most of them are in the South of the planet.

Many Southern countries have at their disposal considerable knowledge and technical know-how that can be put to further good use through enhanced South-South exchanges of information, experience, and technology with a view to raising agricultural productivity and improving food distribution to benefit more populations. Through South-South solidarity we can also learn from countries that are reforming customary norms and practices to ensure that women are no longer denied equal access to land and other productive assets that contribute to food security.

(*) Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, Ambassador from Qatar, is the current President of the United Nations General Assembly.

© Inter Press Service (2012) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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