Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne

BANGKOK (IDN) – When China hosted a two-day conference in May to help revive the ancient trade routes from Asia to Europe and Africa it was greeted with scepticism by most of the western media. But in much of Asia the mood was more of optimism and opportunity.

CNN reported that “some countries raised concerns over the project seen as boosting Beijing’s global clout on trade and geopolitics” – a reoccurring theme in many of the western media reports. While pointing out that the U.S., Japan, India and most of the European leaders had boycotted the meeting BBC described it as a Chinese bid for global leadership. Australia’s ABC said that China wants its ‘new Silk Routes’ to dominate world trade.…

By Shamshad Akhtar

Dr. Shamshad Akhtar is an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) and the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). – The Editor

BANGKOK (IDN) – Two years after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by world leaders in New York, the ongoing practical question is how to finance the needs of such an ambitious and universal agenda.

It has been estimated that if the world’s developing countries are to achieve the targets set out in the global development blueprint, an additional public investment of at least $1.4 trillion per year will be needed.…

By Charlotte Petri Gornitzka

Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, a former Director General of the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida), is chair of the Development Assistance Committee of the 35-nation Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) since July 2016..- The Editor

PARIS (IDN) – New analysis of foreign aid flows from members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which I chair, reveals a worrying trend. The share of Official Development Assistance (ODA) that is tied to companies in donor countries is on the rise again.

The latest OECD report on aid untying, released this month (April 2017), shows that the share of aid that is “untied” – in other words where the legal and regulatory barriers to open competition for aid-funded procurement have been removed – has declined for two years in a row.…

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) has launched a publication series – ‘South-South In Action’ – purported to highlight the vast reservoir of developing country experiences and how these are enhancing South-South cooperation.

The first volume of the series, jointly published by the Royal Thai Government and the UNOSSC was presented at the UN headquarters in New York on January 12, one day before the Southeast Asian country handed the annual Chair of the Group of 77 (G77) and China over to Ecuador.…