Backgrounder: New forms of partnership

V. Issues for discussion

A. Regional value chains, south-south trade and Africa's development prospects

18. Increasing labour costs in major manufacturing countries could support industrialization in Africa. Nevertheless, growing global demand for Africa's natural resources could reinforce the continent's dependence on primary commodity exports. African countries need to adopt trade and industrial policies that strengthen their competitive advantages, promote value addition and facilitate the creation of regional value chains.

a. What is the role of regional value chains in Africa, and how can countries promote their development?

b. How can African countries collaborate with partners from the global South to accelerate the continent's industrialization?

c. What regional approach should African countries adopt with a view to strengthening their collaboration with countries from the global South and enhancing South-South trade?

d. How can countries from the global South best collaborate with a view to promoting prodevelopment reforms of multilateral trade and financial institutions?

B. Moving beyond traditional donor-recipient relationships: the role of South-South cooperation in Africa

19. Considerable South-South cooperation already takes place in Africa and there is real scope for African countries to engage in such collaboration with a view to building on and enhancing the impact of traditional development initiatives.

a. How can traditional development and South-South cooperation initiatives complement each other?

b. What lessons can be learned from South-South cooperation by the development community as it seeks to move beyond traditional donor-recipient relationships?

c. How can complementarities and synergies between traditional and South-South relationships be exploited to promote transformation in Africa?

C. New partnerships and emerging sources of development finance

20. Mobilizing development finance will remain a key priority for African countries in the medium to long term. New partnerships for development should enhance the mobilization of domestic and external resources, among other things, by exploring innovative approaches to development financing.

a. What steps can be taken at the regional and global levels to reduce financial remittance transaction costs and mobilize the financial resources and skill pools of diasporas?

b. What policies should be adopted to support the emergence of vibrant and well-regulated financial hubs in Africa?

c. What collaborative steps can be taken to combat illicit financial flows, and what lessons can African countries learn from developing partners in that regard?

d. How can Africa best leverage sustainable development financing to accelerate the region's transformation?