South-south and triangular cooperation - Japan

JICA considers that South-South and Triangular Cooperation are effective in (i) disseminating successful efforts including those achieved through Japan's cooperation; (ii) contributing to the promotion of regional and global cooperation; and (iii) complementing and supplementing bilateral cooperation with the knowledge and experience of developing countries to achieve development results.

JICA’s South-South and Triangular Cooperation projects/programmes are conducted mainly in the forms of sending of experts and training programmes called Third Country Training Program (TCTP), hosted by public institutions/universities of the pivotal countries. Cost of these types of cooperation are shared under a parallel funding arrangement, which is prepared for each project/programme, and defines budget items to be borne by JICA and a pivotal country.

In FY2015, 62 experts were sent from Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, and Laos as part of JICA’s triangular cooperation. Healthcare is the leading sector of cooperation (48%), followed by public works (39%), agriculture and fisheries (11%), and others (2%). 3,267 personnel participated in the TCTP; 1,365 are from the Middle East, 861 Southeast Asia, 532 Latin America, 341 Africa, 77 Pacific, 71 Europe, 20 South Asia. Main sectors of cooperation in FY2015 TCTP were agriculture and fisheries (26%), planning and administration (18%), human resources (13%), healthcare (13%), and energy (12%).

Triangular cooperation, along with other technical cooperation projects, is subject to the final evaluation and ex-post evaluation in agreement with rules and guidelines of JICA. A final assessment is performed upon the completion of a project, focusing on its efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability, while ex-post evaluation is conducted after a certain period has passed since the completion of a target project with emphasis on the effectiveness and sustainability of the project.