ABSTRACT
The concepts of 'south-south cooperation' (SSC) and 'technical cooperation among developing countries' (TCDC) are entrenched with several specific principled and normative beliefs. However, as is frequent with abstract concepts, interpretations vary as to what they mean in practice. SSC and TCDC do in fact signal a particular framework and specific values. A simple working definition of SSC is "the processes, institutions and arrangements designed to promote political, economic and technical cooperation among developing countries in pursuit of common development goals". The Bandung Conference symbolically marks the political 'birth' of SSC. It was attended by 29 countries whose combined population was at the time close to 1.5 billion people. Technical cooperation has particularly been the focus of many smaller Southern providers of assistance, while also playing a significant role for larger providers. The idea of developing countries helping other developing countries through technical cooperation emerged embedded within SSC's 'ideological' framework.
