INSouth

1945

March - The Arab League was established. Founders members: Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen (Currently there are 22 member countries)

1955

Asian-African Conference in Bandung, Indonesia.  The “Bandung Conference” marked the launching point for large scale Afro-Asian relations in terms of economic and social cooperation.  Twenty-nine countries representing over half the world's population sent delegates.  A consensus was reached in which "colonialism in all of its manifestations" was condemned, implicitly censuring the Soviet Union, as well as Western influences.

1960

February – the Latin America Free Trade Area (LAFTA) was established by the Treaty of Montevideo (1960-1980),  substituted by ALADI in 1980

September - Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was set up between 13 of the world’s largest oil producing countries in order to stabilize and regulate oil production levels, processes, and investments, as well as pricing in international markets.

1961

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was set up at the Belgrade Summit, Yugoslavia.

1963

Organization of African Unity (OAU) was established. In 2002 became African Union (AU)

1964

February - First United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD).  At the end of the conference a group of 77 developing countries signed the "Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries" creating the G77 the largest coalition of developing countries/Least Developed countries at the UN system. The G77 currently has 131 member countries.

1967

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established. Founding members included Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

October – I Ministerial Meeting of G-77 adopted the Charter of Algiers with the basic principles of the group as the – New International Economic Order (NIEO) package

1969

September - Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) – was set up in the Summit of Islamic countries realised in Rabat, Morocco.  The OIC has 57 members countries

Andean Community created by Treaty of Cartagena. Members are Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.  (Chile and Venezuela withdrew in 1976 and 2006, respectively).

1973

July Caribbean Community (CARICOM) established under the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Founding members were Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.

1974

UN General Assembly adopts Declaration for the Establishment of a New International Economic Order request of G-77 and NAM Summit of Algiers in 1973.

1975

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was set up. Members are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

1980

February – ALALC is replaced by Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) . Cuba becomes a member in 1999.

April – Southern African Development Coordination Conference - SADCC with the Lusaka Declaration. Founding members: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

1981

May -  Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was set up including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

High-Level Conference of the G-77 in Caracas Venezuela. Adoption of the Caracas Programme of Action on Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries

1983

November Third World Academy of Science (TWAS) an autonomous international organization was created in Trieste, Italy 1983 by a distinguished group of scientists from the South under the leadership of the late Nobel laureate Abdus Salam of Pakistan. The TWAS was officially launched by the secretary general of the United Nations, Javier Perez de Cuellar, in 1985.

December - Perez Guerrero Trust Fund for Economic and Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (PGTF) established in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution 38/21

1985

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was set up. Founding members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

1987

The South Commission - an intergovernmental body of developing countries was established. The inaugural ceremony was addressed by its chairman Julius Nyerere former Tanzanian president.

1989

April 1989 Ministerial Meetings of the Group of 77 - Agreement on the Global System of Trade Preferences Among Developing Countries (GSTP) entered into force. Forty-one countries ratified.

September - G-15 was created at a Summit Level Group of Developing following the conclusion of the 9th NAM Summit  in Belgrade

1991

March - Treaty of Asuncion was signed creating the Common Market of South Cone (Mercosur). Members Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.  (Venezuela became full member in July 2006 – pending ratification of Brazil and Paraguay Parliaments)

Organization of African Unity Heads of State and Government signed the Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community (AEC) at the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly.

1994

January – Treaty of Establishment of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo and Guinea-Bissau

December - Establishment of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) including 20 African countries

1995

July - South Centre - an intergovernmental body of developing countries was established in Geneva with 49 members currently. The South Centre has its origin in the South Commission of 1987.

1997

June – Developing 8, founded through the Istanbul Declaration to further development cooperation amongst Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

1998

Non Aligned Movement (NAM) created the Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation (CSSTC) located in Jakarta.

2000

April – First South Summit in Havana, Cuba – of 132 member countries of the G-77.  Havana Plan Action adopted among other issues calling members to improve South-South Cooperation.

September - UN General Assembly Millennium Summit set the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development in the developing world.

October I Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing. The FOCAC meets every three years and focuses on collective consultation and dialogue and a cooperation mechanism between the developing countries.

2001

June – Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) a permanent intergovernmental international organisation was set up replacing the former Shanghai Five created in 1996.  The SCO members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Observer members included India, Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia 

2002

July - The 37th Summit of the OAU 2001 formally adopted the NEPAD - New Partnership for Africa’s Development strategic framework document.

July - African Union (AU) was established replacing former Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

2003

June – India, Brazil and South Africa sign the Brasilia Declaration setting up the IBSA Forum. In 2004 the forum created the IBAS Fund for alleviation of Poverty and Hunger in the South 

August - Establishment of the G-20 group  of developing countries at the WTO Ministerial Conference realised in Cancun, Mexico.

September - The G90 was established at WTO Conference in Cancun. This is the largest grouping of members in the World Trade Organisation including poorest countries from African Union, LDCs and African Caribbean and Pacific and ACP group.

December - Resolution 58/220 of 23 December 2003, the UN General Assembly decided to declare 19 December, United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation.

2004

The African Parliament holds its inaugural session in Addis Ababa.

2005

June – Second South Summit realised in Doha, Qatar

September – 50th anniversary of Bandung Conference adoption of Declaration on the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership

December - Hong Kong Ministerial of the WTO Joint Declaration of the G-20, the G-33, the ACP, the LDCs, the African Group and the Small Economies in order to develop a common approach to issues of common interest in the negotiations of the Doha Round.

2006

September - 14th - Summit of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) hold in Havana, Cuba. Leaders agreed to set up institutions of the South such as Bank of the South, World TV Network, Working Group in Energy Security, University system of the South.

November – III Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation hold in Beijing. China announces doubling of financial aid to African nations by 2009.

2007

December - Bank of the South established at a meeting of seven South American Leaders in Buenos Aires

2008

January - Common Market Gulf Cooperation Countries enters into force.
 

April - I Africa – India Summit held in New Delhi, India

September – Approved at the 2005 Second South Summit in Qatar, the South-South Fund for Development and Humanitarian Assistance will be formally launched at a signing ceremony during the annual high-level ministerial meeting of the Group of 77 in September. The government of Qatar has made an initial pledge of 20 million dollars, with an additional 2 million dollars each from India and China. The Fund, to be hosted by Qatar, aims to assist the countries of the South in economic, social, health and educational development. It will also address the problems of hunger and poverty, as well as the impact of natural disasters on developing countries