Reverse Linkage

12 REVERSE LINKAGE I n the last two decades, many of the developing coun- tries have accumulated substantial development experience and acquired expertise, knowledge and technology, enabling the vast potential of these advances to be shared with other countries in the Global South. Owing to this accumulated knowledge, coupled with increased prosperity in the developing countries, the volume of South-South Cooperation has increased to such unprecedented levels that it has finally come under the spotlight that it deserves. In this context, partnerships between the IslamicDevelopment Bank (IsDB) and member countries’ Technical Cooperation Agencies (TCAs) were developed. They were operationalised through the joint implementation of technical cooperation activities and later on through Reverse Linkage projects. Thus, new partnerships were forged with member countries’ TCAs, including: • Azerbaijan International Development Agency (AIDA) • Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD) • Ministry of National Development Planning of Indonesia (BAPPENAS) • Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI) • Tunisian Agency for Technical Cooperation (ATCT) • Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA). To capitalise on these partnerships, in May 2016, a round­ table of TCAs frommember countries was organized by IsDB at its 41st Annual Meeting in Jakarta in order to strengthen partnerships, enhance complementary relationships and achieve more visible and sustainable results on the ground. In line with the roundtable theme – Scaling Up and Enhancing Partnerships among IsDB Member Countries for Tangible Results – and while recognizing the comparative advantages as well as the wealth of knowledge and expertise of IsDBmember countries, the TCAs reached the conclusion that coming together is the best way to achieve noticeable results on the ground.They particularly acknowledged that coordination, collaboration and cooperation among provider and recipient member countries are fundamental to improving results and impacts in linewith the SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs). Thus, they recommended strengthening their partnership through a new framework of action: the 3 2-C Initiative for Effective Technical Cooperation, structured around three pillars: • Pillar 1: Convergence and Complementarity • Pillar 2: Coordination and Collaboration • Pillar 3: Capitalisation on Knowledge and Communication. To translate theses pillars into actions, the TCAs agreed to develop a roadmap for enhancing technical cooperation for sustainable development among IsDB member countries and to convene an annual dialogue meeting for the member countries’ TCAs to follow-up. Building on that momentum, the first dialogue meeting was held in December 2016 at IsDB headquarters in Jeddah. It resulted in setting up a platform of collaboration with a coordination mechanism to be gradually expanded in the future. A second dialogue meeting was held in Tunisia in December 2017 to strengthen this partnership within the framework of the 3 2-C Initiative for Effective Technical Cooperation and to collectively implement the 2017–2020 roadmap structured around the 3 2-C pillars. From the Jakarta roundtable to the Tunisia meeting, the number of TCAs and partners increased to include: • Azerbaijan International Development Agency • Comorian International Cooperation Agency • Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development • Guinean Agency for Technical Cooperation • Ministry of National Development Planning of Indonesia • Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation • Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation • Nigeria Directorate of Technical Aid Corps • Palestinian International Cooperation Agency • Senegal Technical Cooperation Department • Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries • Tunisian Agency for Technical Cooperation • Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency. This dialogue opened avenues of collaboration with other countries of the Global South such as Brazil and Argentina. 3 2-C Initiative for Effective Technical Cooperation IsDB Reverse Linkage Team 1