Page 173 - Special Topic Session (STS) - Volume 2

STS479 Belkacem A.

Morocco’s experience in South/South
cooperation and statistical capacity building
Belkacem Abdous
National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics, Rabat, Morocco

Abstract
During the last decades, Morocco has developed very active and intense
South-South statistical cooperation activities. Indeed, the High Commission
for Planning provided statistical training, technical assistance and capacity
building support for several National Statistical Offices of African and Arab
countries. In this work, we will briefly present some of these fruitful triangular
and bilateral cooperation initiatives and show how they build on the specific
local context to adopt and apply the international standards and good
statistical practices. Besides, we will cast light on the manifest will of Morocco
to disseminate and open its data bases to users and international
organizations. We will share and discuss some innovative approaches that
have been put forward to modernize its statistical system in support of the
SDGs.

Keywords
South-South cooperation, Triangular and bilateral cooperation, Statistical
capacity building, Modernization of national statistical sytems

1. Introduction
South–South cooperation is a concept that emerged during the 1940s, it
finds its roots in the Asian and African countries struggle for independence
and in the Non-Aligned Movement (1955). Generally speaking, the word
“South” refers to countries outside Western Europe and North America. For
more details, see Bergamaschi, Moore and Tickner (2017).
There is no precise and internationally accepted definition of South-South
Cooperation. In a document entitled “ South-South Cooperation: A Pathway
for Development”, the Partners in Population and Development (2009), an
Intergovernmental Alliance of developing countries, provides commonly used
concepts and definitions of South–South cooperation. Detailed milestones in
South–South cooperation are provided as well. That said, according to the
Nairobi outcome document of the High-level United Nations Conference on
South-South Cooperation (General Assembly Resolution 64/222 of 21
December 2009), South–South cooperation principles might be described as
follows:

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