Global South Perspectives on Trade and Development: From Participation to Prosperity

As world leaders gather in New York for the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, a recurring message is emerging from developing countries: the Global South does not simply want greater participation in the global economy—it wants a global economic system in which participation produces development.

The 2026 General Debate, taking place from 22–28 September under the theme “Restoring trust, managing transformation: a United Nations that delivers for all,” comes at a time of geopolitical tension, high debt burdens, disrupted supply chains, climate pressures and widening technological divides.

For Global South International (GSI), these discussions raise a fundamental question: How can trade become a stronger instrument for development, economic transformation and improved livelihoods across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and other developing regions?

Trade must translate into development

For decades, developing countries have participated in international trade, often as exporters of agricultural commodities, minerals and other raw materials. Yet participation alone does not necessarily generate structural transformation.

A country may export cocoa but import chocolate. It may export cotton but import finished clothing. It may possess critical minerals while importing the technologies manufactured from them. It may produce agricultural commodities while remaining dependent on imported processed foods, fertilizers, medicines and machinery.

The development challenge, therefore, is not simply how much the Global South trades, but what it trades, where value is created, who captures that value and whether trade builds domestic productive capacity.

This concern is particularly acute among the world's most vulnerable economies. UN discussions note that the 44 least developed countries account for only about 1.1% of global merchandise exports, while landlocked developing countries face exceptionally high trade costs because of infrastructure, connectivity and transit constraints.

The implication is clear: trade policy and development policy cannot be treated as separate agendas.

A changing message from world leaders

The speeches and discussions surrounding the General Assembly increasingly connect trade with a much broader development agenda encompassing debt, financing, industrialization, technology, climate resilience and reform of global institutions.

The President of the 81st General Assembly, Khalilur Rahman, has made financing for just and inclusive development one of the priorities of his presidency. His agenda calls attention to SDG financing gaps, debt sustainability, reform of the international financial architecture and stronger South-South and triangular cooperation.

At the opening of the General Debate, the scale of the imbalance was also highlighted: official development assistance from OECD donors fell substantially in the previous year while global military expenditure approached $3 trillion. The Assembly President called for greater attention to development assistance, debt burdens and reform of the international financial architecture.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres similarly placed economic fairness alongside climate action, responsible artificial intelligence, human rights and international cooperation among the major challenges confronting the international community.

These discussions point toward an important Global South perspective: development cannot be sustained by trade liberalization alone when countries face unsustainable debt, expensive capital, inadequate infrastructure and limited technological capacity.

The debt-development-trade connection

One of the strongest themes emerging from the UN discussions is debt.

Developing economies require roads, ports, railways, electricity, digital infrastructure, irrigation, hospitals, education and productive investment to compete internationally. Yet many governments face severe fiscal constraints.

At the UN high-level meeting marking the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, participants heard that developing-country debt costs have reached approximately $1.4 trillion, while billions of people live in countries where governments spend more on debt interest than on either health or education.

This creates a development trap.

When governments devote increasingly large shares of public resources to debt servicing, fewer resources remain for the infrastructure and human capital that make economies competitive. High borrowing costs can therefore become not merely a fiscal problem, but a trade and industrialization problem.

That is why calls for affordable development financing and reform of the international financial architecture have become closely connected to the Global South's trade agenda.

Moving from commodities to value creation

Another priority should be structural transformation.

UN discussions on trade and development have emphasized the importance of diversification into areas such as agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, clean energy, light manufacturing, digital services and climate-resilient infrastructure.

For the Global South, this represents a shift from asking, “How can we export more?” to asking, “How can we create more value before we export?”

Africa, for example, has enormous agricultural, mineral, renewable-energy and human-resource potential. Greater local processing can create employment, strengthen domestic supply chains, generate tax revenue and develop technological capabilities.

The same principle applies beyond Africa. Developing economies should increasingly seek positions further up global value chains rather than remaining permanently concentrated at their lowest-value stages.

Regional trade can change the equation

Global South countries also have enormous opportunities to trade more with one another.

Regional integration can create markets large enough to support manufacturing, pharmaceutical production, agricultural processing and technology industries that may struggle to achieve scale within individual national markets.

For landlocked countries, however, regional integration is particularly dependent on physical connectivity. UN discussions this week have emphasized transit arrangements, infrastructure investment, agricultural research, trade facilitation and greater engagement with the World Trade Organization. Landlocked developing countries represented only around 1.1% of global merchandise exports in 2022.

This illustrates why roads, railways, ports, border systems, energy networks and digital infrastructure are themselves trade policies.

Removing a tariff has limited value if transporting a product to market remains prohibitively expensive.

South-South cooperation should become economic infrastructure

Another important theme is the growing role of South-South cooperation.

Countries across the Global South increasingly possess valuable experience in digital public infrastructure, agriculture, public health, renewable energy, manufacturing, financial inclusion and social protection.

The UN's 2026 discussions on South-South cooperation emphasized that developing countries are not merely recipients of solutions; they are themselves generating knowledge, capabilities and innovation. The challenge is increasingly how successful approaches can be financed, adapted and scaled across countries.

South-South cooperation should move beyond diplomatic solidarity toward practical economic cooperation: joint ventures, research partnerships, regional supply chains, technology exchange, development finance, professional training and cross-border investment.

North-South cooperation remains essential. The UN General Assembly President explicitly describes South-South and triangular cooperation as complements rather than substitutes for North-South cooperation.

The objective should therefore not be to replace one set of partnerships with another. It should be to expand the choices available to developing countries.

Technology is becoming part of trade policy

The next frontier is digital.

Artificial intelligence, digital platforms, data systems and automation are transforming how countries produce, finance and trade goods and services.

For developing countries, this transformation presents both opportunity and risk.

Digital technology can allow entrepreneurs in Malawi, Ghana, India, Brazil or Indonesia to reach customers thousands of miles away. Digital public infrastructure can reduce transaction costs. AI can improve agriculture, logistics, healthcare and government services.

But without affordable connectivity, skills, financing and technological capabilities, the digital economy could reproduce existing inequalities.

The 2026 General Assembly discussions have consequently connected development with closing digital divides, expanding digital infrastructure, promoting innovation and strengthening cooperation so that technological transformation becomes an instrument of development rather than another source of dependency.

Climate and trade can no longer be separated

For many Global South economies, climate change is already an economic and trade issue.

Drought affects agricultural exports. Flooding destroys roads and bridges. Extreme weather disrupts ports and supply chains. Rising temperatures affect productivity, food security and energy systems.

Developing countries therefore face the difficult task of industrializing while simultaneously adapting to climate change.

That makes access to climate finance, clean technology and resilient infrastructure increasingly important components of trade competitiveness.

The General Assembly's 2026 high-level agenda reflects this intersection, including dedicated discussions on climate action, just transition and the particular vulnerabilities facing developing countries.

GSI's perspective: trade should ultimately improve people's lives

For Global South International, the measure of successful trade and development should not simply be export statistics or GDP growth.

The deeper questions are whether economic engagement:

• creates decent jobs and sustainable enterprises;
• strengthens local industries and supply chains;
• improves access to healthcare, education, food, water and energy;
• expands opportunities for women and young people;
• increases domestic value addition and technological capabilities;
• mobilizes investment without creating unsustainable debt; and
• leaves countries more resilient and economically independent.

This means connecting trade policy with health, education, agriculture, infrastructure, investment, technology, climate resilience and human development.

It also requires partnership. Governments must establish enabling policies and institutions. Businesses must invest and innovate. International institutions can improve access to finance and markets. Universities and research institutions can generate evidence. Civil society can help ensure that development reaches communities rather than remaining confined to national economic statistics.

From a Global South voice to Global South agency

Perhaps the most important message emerging from New York is that the debate is no longer simply about giving the Global South a voice.

Voice matters—but agency matters even more.

Developing countries need greater capacity to finance their priorities, produce competitively, negotiate effectively, process their resources, trade regionally, develop technology and determine their own pathways toward economic transformation.

The President of the General Assembly has framed his 2026 agenda around the principle “No One Left Behind, No Country Left Out,” while emphasizing that unequal access to finance, technology and markets continues to constrain development.

For trade and development, turning that principle into reality will require moving from promises to practical mechanisms.

The future of Global South development should therefore not be defined merely by greater access to existing markets. It should be defined by greater productive capacity, stronger regional integration, fairer financing, technological capability, domestic value creation and meaningful participation in shaping the rules of the global economy.

That is how trade can move beyond exchange and become what developing countries increasingly need it to be: a pathway to shared prosperity, resilience and sustainable development.