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ndonesia is widely known as a dynamic player in international development cooperation. The fundamentals of such branding reflect '€œgiving while receiving'€. Constitutionally, Indonesia has been an internationalist, '€œa global citizen'€ since early in its independence in 1945. The preamble of the Constitution states, '€œIndonesia should contribute to the establishment of a world order based on freedom, abiding peace and social justice.'€

As if we are the equalizer, fixer and guardian of the globe, Indonesia actively engages in all strategic global trends, from disarmament to international development issues. We have the capability, enthusiasm and the platform to realize our independent and active foreign policy.

We had no hesitation to convene the conference of Asian and African nations in 1955. Indonesia was just 10 years into its independence and was confronting a hostile West in the 1950s.

We will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference on April 20 to 24 with the theme, Strengthening South-South cooperation to promote world peace and prosperity.

Again, the sentiment at this commemoration echoes the very fundamental tradition of Indonesia'€™s foreign policy: peace must be in tandem with national development. It is like the chicken and the egg, for while enjoying development you will produce peace, or vice versa. But such development has to be equitable, sustainable and inclusive.

But does the entire South stand on the same line? Look at Saudi Arabia and Yemen, or Iran. Some in the South are fighting each other. '€œSolidarity'€ in the South is a luxury.

As a contemporary political concept, the South itself is elusive. Most analysts don'€™t distinguish it with the grouping of developing countries. Countries in Latin America are becoming the formidable challenge to the concept.

They can legitimately claim to also represent the South, both politically and geographically, and the concept also fuels rivalry. We recognize the '€œuneasiness'€ between Brazil and Argentina, or Mexico with Brazil and Chile vis-à-vis Bolivia and a few others. Hence, the '€œSouth'€ is vulnerable, fragile and messy.

Financing has remained the great obstacle of cooperation, either in the context of South-South or North-South. Therefore, the Third Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Abbes in June 2015 will be critical. The nations involved may use the forum to call for developed countries in the North to fulfill the previous commitments they made.

The commitments include allocation of 0.7 percent of gross national income (GNI) to Official Development Assistance (ODA) of the North for the South, while also stressing the North should show political commitment to the post-2015 development agenda by adopting a goal of reaching 1 percent of their GNI in 2025 or 2030.

The strategy to mobilize financing for development also covers capacity building and technology transfer. In fact, these are the main pillars of sustainable development. Development clearly requires generation of the necessary means of financing '€” the provision of additional, adequate, predictable and sustainable means of implementation from developed to developing countries.

The success of such an approach will enable evolution towards sustainable growth with equity, which also includes technology integration and transfer, innovation and capacity building. In the end, these would allow the South to stimulate and sustain productive economic activity.

Indonesia knows the trick and fully understands the financing problem. We have been struggling with this for a long time in efforts to best project the interest of the South. Despite the lack of a multilateral funding mechanism, we have consistently pushed the impetus of South-South cooperation. Yet Indonesia is not dependent on the donor-recipient model. While most developing countries in the South very much rely on ODA, Indonesia believes that a more innovative means of financing, such as domestic resource mobilization, is required.

We are not in the mode of a '€œdonor-recipient'€ relationship anymore. The way forward for our relationships and partnerships should be based upon equality, sustainability and inclusiveness. Only along these lines would countries of the South be able to address their problems by resolving the global economic crisis and bring themselves closer to targets of sustainable development and the post-2015 development agenda.

Although still a modest country, a strong ASEAN and Non-Aligned Movement pioneer, Indonesia wants other South nations to act vigilantly. We didn'€™t have much capital, but we had no hesitation in promoting the cause of the South. We succeeded with limited resources, both financially and technologically.

We want other nations of the South to act boldly and coherently on issues pertaining to our common interests. The only thing we don'€™t want to see after the commemoration is over is everybody packing their suitcases, saying '€œciao'€, going home and forgetting the agenda of the South.
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The writer is a policy scenario analyst in Switzerland. The article is his personal opinion.