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Germany and the New South

Voices, Insights, Expectations

Germany and the New South | Voices, Insights, Expectations

Perspectives from the Global South on a changing World

Germany and the New South

September 10, 2024

In April 2024, Global Perspectives initiated a Commission to develop recommendations for Germany’s role, credibility and responsibilities in a changing, complex and contested world. To prepare for the Commission’s work, Global Perspectives  interviewed ten experts from countries in the Global South. The paper captures the views that were expressed by the experts as well as key messages and insights for a new strategic engagement of Germany with countries in the Global South. It aims at highlighting that future international relations between Germany and other countries of the West will have to take a more sensitive and more precise look at the particularities and positions of the individual countries.

“Countries in the Global South do not have an equal saying around decisions in economic multilateral organisations.”
Andrea Ordóñez Llanos
Senior Research Fellow, Southern Voice, Ecuador
“The thing that we could do together is reform the norms, the rules and regulations that preside over decision-making institutions on a global scale."
Filipe Nasser
Senior Advisor to the Foreign Minister of Brazil, Brazil
“We saw an egocentrism, which was very unusual. And it was felt in the Global South as almost a kind of a betrayal.”
Elhadj As-Sy
Chairman, Kofi Annan Foundation, Senegal
"You need to go local to make sure that you have democratic ownership of the transitions and that you have projects that can be sustained over time."
Alice Amorim
Partnerships & Communications Director, Institute for Climate and Society, Brazil
“If the amounts are spread too thinly on too many different initiatives, there's still impact, but it doesn't scale. And the key issue is scaling.”
Acha Leke
Senior Partner & Chairman, McKinsey & Company, Africa, Cameroon
"Germany has a reputation for coming in and having a conversation to find a middle ground. I don’t think you should underestimate the power."
Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi
President & CEO, African Center for Economic Transformation, Ghana
“To grow you have to trade, to trade you have to manufacture.“
Vera Songwe
Chairwoman & Founder, Liquidity and Sustainability Facility, Cameroon
“You have a strategic role in this whole environment because you are strategically located in Europe, you have access to partners."
Teddy Y. Soobramanien
CEO, Comesa Business Council, Mauritius
“More support, directly or through other means, on climate financing is something that we will expect.“
Ambika Vishwanath
Co-Founder & Director, Kubernein Initiative, India
“It's the absence [of German interests] in some ways, rather than the presence, which sort of defines them.”
Syed Akbar Zaidi
Executive Director, Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan

The future of international cooperation

  • Who are our partners in conversation?

    Global Perspectives interviewed 10 experts from countries in the Global South - from India and Pakistan, to Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Mauritius to Brazil and Ecuador - to get their insight into what the perception of Germany is in their respective countries. In interviews conducted from April to June 2024 the experts were asked about the areas in which German development policy is viewed particularly positively or negatively as well as the challenges and opportunities they see in future cooperation with Germany.

  • In what way is the world order changing?

    As the world emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, the gap between the global North and South had further widened. It is not just inequality that grew, distrust did too. Having the advantage of wealth and technological resources, rich countries were able to shield themselves from the worst of the pandemic’s economic consequences but low-income and developing countries - many of whom were vulnerable before the crisis - suffered major setbacks which saw decades of socioeconomic development gains reversed.

  • Who is the Global South?

    The term ‘Global South’, first coined in 1969, has become shorthand to refer to a group of about 130 postcolonial and developing countries who advocate for their collective economic interests to enhance their negotiating capacity in international structures. While the term serves as a connecting element between countries, many countries in the Global South do not cooperate or collaborate with each other underlining the aspect that there is no such thing as a common and unified position of the Global South.

  • What does the Global South expect from Germany?

    The interviewees are clear in relaying the message that the Global South wants to move away from the donor-recipient relationship, which is described as ‘outdated’. One of the experts says countries that have been reliant on aid have no freedom to make decisions. They want to see more emphasis being put on establishing and deepening trade. Countries in the Global South want fairness, and reforming the systems that govern the global community is key to achieving that.

Contact Persons

Gregor Darmer, g.darmer@globalperspectives.org

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