1. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION: TRENDS and EMERGING
OPPORTUNITIES – PERSPECTIVES OF THE NEW ACTORS
Concept Note for Plenary Panel 2:
Development Cooperation with the Least Developed Countries
11:00-12:30, 20 June 2014
I. Introduction/Background
The Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have been recognized by the United Nations since 1971 as a
group facing long-term structural challenges and therefore requiring special attention. The criteria
for being designated as an LDC go beyond low income. They include weaknesses in human assets
(health, nutrition and education) as well as economic and environmental vulnerability, which
indicate crucial intervention points for assisting LDCs. The idea behind identifying LDCs was to single
them out for targeted international interventions prioritizing their specific development challenges.
To guide the international community in this respect, four UN Conferences on the LDCs have been
held since 1981. In these Conferences, LDCs and the international community decided on a course of
action for the following decade and agreed to take it into account in their policies and cooperation.
The latest such document is the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Decade 2011-2020 (IPoA)
adopted at the Fourth UN Conference on the LDCs in May 2011. The IPoA places particular emphasis
on productive capacity, infrastructure, technological capacity, diversification and structural
transformation in the LDCs. It also calls for increased attention to agriculture and rural development.
However, one year after the call to increase development assistance to LDCs made during the
Conference, a decline in net flows from DAC countries to LDCs was observed. Trends revealed a
steady decline in aid directed to economic sectors as proportion of total aid, specifically to
agriculture, while a significant increase in the part of aid for social and administrative infrastructure
and for humanitarian purposes was observed. It is important to note that if the underlying objectives
of IPoA are to be realized, aid flows into productive sectors for improving productive capacity and
fostering structural transformation of the LDCs' economies need to be enhanced.
An important characteristic of South-South Cooperation and assistance provided by many emerging
players is the priority given to productive sectors. Thus, by the nature of their actions, South-South
and emerging players are more disposed to fulfilling the requirements of IPoA. Moreover, having
gone through similar challenges recently, these actors often develop and use technologies more apt
to the LDCs. This is particularly true in the case of agriculture owing to climatic and geographic
proximities. Finally, as developing countries they are currently in the situation that LDCs will find
themselves when they graduate from development assistance, which opens up synergies and further
possibilities for cooperation.
II. Objective of the Panel
This session provides an opportunity to discuss whether South-South Cooperation and the actions of
emerging players are being undertaken in accordance with the internationally agreed framework as

2. defined in IPoA. In the light of a conceptual discussion and the experiences of LDCs themselves, an
attempt will be made to identify modalities and approaches particularly useful for cooperation with
LDCs. This would be not only confined to bilateral actions but may involve Triangular Cooperation
and the utilization of multilateral initiatives designed for LDCs such as the Enhanced Integrated
Framework for Trade-Related Assistance for the Least Developed Countries (EIF) or the Global
Environment Facility (GEF) LDC Fund.
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Key guiding questions for the discussion:
Proposed questions for discussion include:
• Are the actions of emerging players and South-South Cooperation partners different from
those of traditional donors and are they more in line with the special needs of LDCs,
particularly as they are defined in IPoA?
• What, if any, are the areas in which these actions are especially advantageous? What, if any,
are the areas in which these actions should be especially strengthened (or abandoned)?
• What are the shortcomings? How can they be improved? What is the role of Triangular
Cooperation in this respect?
• What areas of post-graduation, such as the loss of trade privileges, require particular
attention and can South-South Cooperation help in preparing for that situation?
III. Session Outline
The moderator [5 minutes] will set the scene for the session by recalling the guidance for
development cooperation providers and needs of the LDCs as discussed during the international
debates during the UN Conferences on the LDCs, with particular reference to the Istanbul
Programme of Action. The key guiding questions will be used facilitate the discussion between the
panelists representing LDCs and research institutions / think tanks focusing on the LDCs. Very short
presentations can be expected from discussants, but the moderator will facilitate the interactive
dialogue and mutual learning.
IV. Speakers
Moderator: Dr. Henri Robert Sterlin, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Haiti
Dr. Henri Robert Sterlin is currently the Secretary of State at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on November 16 of
1951. His many studies in prestigious schools in Port-au-Prince (Haiti), in
Paris (France), and in Madrid (Spain) have granted him titles from Bachelor in
Foreign Affairs to Doctorate of 3rd cycle in History and International
Relations. He also has many diplomas in Financial Accounting, Social Sciences
as well as Masters Degrees in Management and Business Administration. He
has also perfected his assets in teaching, in domains of Contemporary Literature and Philosophy,
Economic and Politic Sciences. Mr. Sterling has an extensive career in public service and foreign
affairs, having served for the Permanent Mission of Haiti to the United Nations, and Haitian Embassy
in Spain and France.

3. 3
Panelists:
• Ambassador Mithat Rende, Permanent Representative of Turkey to the OECD
Ambassador Mithat RENDE took up his duties as Permanent
Representative of Turkey to the OECD on 12 November 2013.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the
University of Ankara. Mr. Rende also completed the NATO
Defence College in Rome in 1984, and the postgraduate
programme of the Royal College of Defence Studies in London
on security and international relations in 2000. Between 2007
and 2009, Mr. Rende served as Turkey’s Ambassador to the
State of Qatar. Previous assignments included diplomatic
postings in Damascus, Rome, Brussels (NATO), Sofia, Vienna
(OSCE) and London. While in London, he also served as the
Deputy Permanent Representative of Turkey to the
International Maritime Organization. From 2009 until his nomination as Permanent Representative
of Turkey to the OECD, Mr. Rende was Director General for Multilateral Economic Affairs at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara. He was the Chief Climate Change Negotiator of Turkey, the
Turkish Point of Contact to the UN Panel of Inquiry established by the UN Secretary General on the
Humanitarian Aid Convoy Incident and member of the Turkish Nuclear Energy Commission.
• Mr. Isaora Zefania Romalahy, Head, Permanent Secretariat in charge of Aid Coordination, Office
of the Prime Minister, Madagascar
Mr. Isaora Zefania Romalahy is Head of the Permanent Secretary in
charge of Aid Coordination in the Prime Ministry Office of Madagascar,
which has the role of a bridge between donors and the government in
terms of ODA information management and the implementation of Paris
and Busan Agenda for Aid Effectiveness.
• Prof. Savaş Alpay, Director General, Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training
Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), Turkey
Prof. Savaş Alpay is the Director General of the SESRIC. He received his
PhD in economics from Johns Hopkins University in 1997 and has
taught at different universities in Turkey. Formerly, he worked as a
consultant in the USA and served on the Board of the Public Regulation
Authority in Turkey. His research areas include interactions among
economic growth, international trade and the environment with an
emphasis on the design and implementation of policies towards
sustainable growth. More recently, his research focuses on policies
towards improving socio-economic development of the communities,
as well as knowledge economics, science and technology policies,
vocational education and training programmes in the Member
Countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). His book
titled “Trade and the Environment” has been published by Kluwer. He is the editor of the Economic
Cooperation and Development Review and the Journal of Economic Cooperation and Development,
which publish scholarly articles on socio-economic development in the OIC Member Countries and
other developing countries. Prof. Alpay is a member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences.

4. • Ms. Liu Haifang, Secretary General, Centre for African Studies and Deputy Director, School of
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International Studies, Peking University
Liu Haifang, PhD (History), Peking University, is an Associate Professor in
School of International Studies, Peking University. She previously worked
for the Institute of West Asian and African Studies (IWAAS), the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and as a visiting scholar at the
Institute of Social Studies in the Hague (2007-2008), Centre for Chinese
Studies in Stellenbosch University (2009) and Carleton University in
Ottawa (2013). She serves as Deputy Director & Secretary General of the
Centre for African Studies, Peking University, and the Vice President of
the Chinese Society of African Historical Studies. Liu‘s current research
topics are Racial issues in Contemporary International Politics (African
continent in particular), China in Africa/ Africa in China, China’s foreign aid (historical & development
perspectives and Tan-Zam Railway as a case), Angola and its international relationships, etc. She is
teaching two courses, African Politics & International Relations (for undergraduates), and
Comprehensive African Study (for MA students). Dr Liu has authored numerous publications in
English and Mandarin.
• Dr. Lars Engberg-Pedersen, Senior Researcher, Danish Institute for International Studies
Lars Engberg-Pedersen is senior researcher at Danish Institute for
International studies, DIIS. He got his PhD from Copenhagen Business
School in 1998. He worked at the Centre for Development Research,
Copenhagen, 1992-2000 on issues related to poverty reduction, local
organisations, natural resource management and decentralisation. He
was International Director of Danish Association for International
Cooperation (a major Danish NGO) 2000-2004 and worked on
decentralisation as Principal Technical Advisor in the Ministry of Home
Affairs in Burkina Faso 2004-2006. In 2007 he joined the Danish Institute
for International Studies (DIIS) where he works on different aspects of
development cooperation.
• Mr. Mehmet Arda, Professor, Koç University, Turkey
Retired Head of UNCTAD's Commodities Branch, he was
Professor of International Relations and Economics at
Galatasaray University, Istanbul (2007-2013) and currently
teaches at Koc University. He is an Executive Board Member of
the Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM),
member of Global Relations Forum (GIF) and Economic
Research Centre of Galatasaray University (GIAM), and a
founding member of SenDeGel, a civil society organization
providing development assistance to Least Developed
Countries. Occasionally he undertakes consultancy work for the United Nations and assists the
Turkish Government. He has a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College, and a Ph.D in Economics
from the University of California, Berkeley.