Bangladesh is planning to establish an international South-South Centre in Dhaka as part of its plan to project itself as an emerging leader in the Global South.
The country is likely to make a formal proposal for this in the upcoming high level United Nations conference on South-South Cooperation scheduled to be held in Buenos Aires later this month.
Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen will lead the Bangladesh delegation during the high-level conference to be held in the Argentine capital from March 20 to 22.
"We will propose establishing a 'South-South Center on Knowledge and Innovation' in Bangladesh during the event," a government official concerned told the FE on Sunday.
"This can go a long way in establishing the country as an emerging leader in the Global South and sharing its development experience with others," he added.
Officials said with the country preparing to graduate from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) status in the coming years, it is logical for Bangladesh to aspire to become a leader in the global South-South engagement.
Bangladesh, which is the world's largest LDC in terms of population and the size of the economy, met the criteria for LDC graduation last year.
The country is expected to formally graduate from the LDC status by 2024. Bangladesh's success in various socio economic parameters has been applauded in various international platforms from time to time.
Against the backdrop, officials noted Bangladesh can offer important lessons for other developing countries in the areas of education, agriculture, public health as well as public service innovations.
Under the current plan, it would take around two years for the country to establish the centre once it received the green light during the UN summit.
Economic Relations Division of the ministry of finance is likely to take the coordinating role in establishing the organisation, officials said earlier.
The ERD has a South-South Cooperation cell under its UN wing.
Once established, the centre is likely to work as a South-South Cooperation learning platform by creating an avenue for partnerships among developing countries in the areas of science, innovation and capacity building.
The centre would provide seed funding to young innovators and provide capacity development opportunities for young entrepreneurs.
It would promote young innovators by linking them with experts and mentors, according to the initial concept note prepared by the government.
The organisation would provide a mechanism to share Bangladesh's success in various development schemes like 'informal education,' officials said.
In addition, the proposed centre would provide platform to expand diaspora involvement and will share research and development experiences with other developing countries.
The concept of South-South Cooperation gained wider currency since the Bandung Conference back in 1955.
Later, Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA) on technical cooperation among developing countries was adopted in 1978, giving it a stronger international framework.
Further institutionalisation of the concept took place during the Millennium Summit in 2000 and the Nairobi Conference on South-South Cooperation in 2009.
The issue of South-South Cooperation has attracted larger international attention in recent years against the backdrop of the rise of India, China and other emerging economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
