1. p Second Committee Dialogue Inter-regional cooperation: An enabler for the post 2015 development agenda Dr. Rima Khalaf Executive Secretary October 31 st, 2013- New York

2. South becoming global driver of growth for Developing Countries. The Arab Region : Diversity and Complementarities Resource rich, vs. LDCs Aid donors vs. aid dependent Labor exporters vs. labor importers Conflict afflicted and post-conflict countries Only remaining occupation in the 21st century, Budding transformations to democracy Traditional partnerships revisited and new inter-regional partnerships considered The Arab region: diversity and multiplicity of actors Abundance of opportunities and challenges for cooperation within the region and with other regions

3. Financial Flows in the past 30 years Saudi Arabia FDI outflow: $30 billion FDI inflow: 186.8 billion United Arab Emirates FDI outflow: $56 billion FDI inflow: $86 billion Arab Region FDI outflow: $175.8 billion FDI inflow: almost equal Opportunities for Arab-South Cooperation

4. Opportunities for Arab-South Cooperation (cont.) Amongst the top 10 richest in the world Investment strategies primarily to engage in foreign investments Sovereign Wealth Funds Arab donors average DA of 1.5% of GNI in 35 years, twice UN target (0.7%) and 5 times average of OECD-DAC countries Outreach of the region is increasingly spanning to Africa and Asia Arab DA from merely Arab and Muslim countries to over 100 countries Development Assistance Flows Total estimated resources of Arab Development Funds: $80bn (2011) Arab Development Funds In GCC over 75% of private sector workers are migrant workers. Almost 75% are Asian Positive impacts of remittances: increase household income, reducing poverty, aiding construction and local economies… Remittances

5. Asia claims over 80% of all South-South trade Shares in South-South exports in 2010: 6% Africa and 10% Americas. Asia exports manufactured goods to Africa, the Americas and Arab regions export commodities to Asia Lack of technological transfer exacerbates the lack of technological diversification, which increases the development divide even within the South Inter-regional imbalances Addressing these imbalances should be put a priority on the political agenda

6. MDGS SHORTCOMINGS Lack of clarity on how to tailor global targets to national realities and regional dynamics Insufficient attention to the conditions of vulnerable groups Qualitative dimensions of service provision, such as health and education not addressed Implementation problems: including disregard to national specific conditions Weaknesses in achieving an effective global partnership for development Regional perspective in the post-2015 dev. agenda REGIONAL COMMISSIONS Consultations to ensure regional voices heard and regional priorities &aspirations captured in post-2015 development agenda debate Report A Regional Perspective on the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda to identify regional priority areas post -2015. RCs can contribute to the global sustainable development agenda and the agenda could benefit from the RC's experience and assets. ARAB REGION PRIORITIES Economic sustainability Social sustainability Environmental sustainability Governance & institutions

7. Post-2015 development agenda Alignments with regional and national challenges & priorities Regional dimension to analysis and policies Bottom-up approach The role of Regional Commissions Regional Commissions regional priorities are integrated into global development debates capacity-building Convene regional actors Offer space to share lessons learned inter-regional knowledge networks Inter-regional approach to global governance imbalances inter-regional dialogue

8. High Level Meetings Series: Challenges and Opportunities of Democratic Transitions Five Regional Commissions mobilized their expertise and networks for two high level meetings (January 2012 and February 2013) to address the challenges and opportunities of Democratic Transitions to support Arab countries going through this delicate phase. Swift, high- level response Convening power Strategic dialogue New ways of doing business

9. Interconnections between different aspects of democratic transitions –Chile –Slovakia –Mauritania –South Africa Transition to democracy is a long, drawn out and multidimensional process A favorable regional and international context can support a democratic transition, while unfavorable conditions can undermine such transitions and maintain totalitarian regimes High Level Meetings Series: Challenges and Opportunities of Democratic Transitions (Cont.)

10. Promotion of inter-regional cooperation underpinned – By adherence to globally held values of human rights, good governance and freedoms – By alignment to regional priorities: economic, social and environmental sustainability, democratic governance and public sector accountability Focus on key sectors while developing intra-regional body of knowledge for the design, implementation and evaluation of cooperation programs Addressing inter-regional imbalances and establish a genuine partnership among countries, based on our citizens aspirations: freedom, dignity and justice Code of Conduct to address imbalances among regions, but not emulating harmful patterns of interaction from the past Inter-regional cooperation

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