North–South Summit facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids North–South Summit International Meeting on Cooperation and Development
Participants at the Cancun Sheraton Hotel Beach.
Host country	Mexico
Date	22–23 October 1981
Venue(s)	Cancun Sheraton Hotel
Cities	Cancún
Participants	22 countries
Chair	José López Portillo

The North–South Summit, also known as the International Meeting on Cooperation and Development, was a big international meeting held in Cancún, Mexico. It took place from October 22 to 23, 1981. Leaders and representatives from 22 countries around the world came together for this special event.

This summit was unique because it was the only time a meeting like this focused on the "North-South divide" outside of the United Nations. The main goal was to talk about how to help the Global South (developing countries) grow economically. They also wanted to improve economic relationships with the Global North (more developed countries).

Discussions at the summit covered important topics like farming and food, energy, trade, industry, and money matters. Even though no big agreements were signed, the summit helped countries from different parts of the world talk to each other about global challenges.

Why the Summit Happened
Who Participated
- Key Leaders and Their Roles
- Main Goals of the Summit
What Was Discussed
What Happened After
- What Came Next
See also

Why the Summit Happened

The North-South Divide

The North-South Summit happened at a time when many countries that used to be colonies were trying to become strong and independent. After World War II, many of these nations faced problems like poverty and not enough resources.

From 1960 to 1980, the United Nations had "Development Decades" to help these countries. Many meetings and reports led up to the Cancún Summit. One important group was the G77, which was formed by developing countries.

A special idea called the Brandt Line (from the Brandt Report in 1980) helped show the difference between the "Global North" (richer countries) and the "Global South" (developing countries). This report said that the North and South needed to work together better to share money and resources. The presidents of Mexico, José López Portillo, and Austria, Bruno Kreisky, started organizing the North-South Summit to make these discussions happen.

Economic Challenges

Big international money groups like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank became very important in the late 1970s and early 1980s. After the energy crises of the 1970s, these groups offered loans to developing countries. These loans often came with conditions, asking governments to change their economic policies.

Some leaders in the Global South, like Mexico's President López Portillo, wanted a New International Economic Order (NIEO). This idea was about creating fairer economic rules for all countries. They tried to make this a global policy through the United Nations, but many developed nations disagreed.

Another meeting in 1975, the UNIDO conference in Lima, also pushed for changes. It suggested that developing nations should get more industrial power and better technology. However, some countries, like the United States, preferred to keep the existing economic system.

Political Landscape

The G77 became very influential in the United Nations in the late 1960s. Many of its members were part of the Non-Aligned Movement, meaning they didn't take sides in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Some of these non-aligned countries helped create the idea of the New International Economic Order.

Because economic development was such a big topic, powerful countries from the Global North, like the United States, United Kingdom, West Germany, and Japan, agreed to attend the summit. They were encouraged by other Northern countries like France, Canada, and Mexico. The Cold War still played a role: the Soviet Union chose not to come, and Cuba was not invited because the United States asked for it. Only China and Yugoslavia (communist countries) attended.

Choosing the Location

Mexico was chosen as the host country because it had good relationships with the United States, a global superpower. Mexico's President, José López Portillo, strongly supported the New International Economic Order.

Cancún was a new resort city at the time. Hosting the summit there helped the Mexican government promote Cancún as a global tourist spot, giving it a lot of attention.

Preparing for the Summit

The Cancún Summit was planned by the foreign ministers of the participating countries. The first meeting was in September 1980. Countries like France, Canada, Sweden, Algeria, India, Nigeria, and Yugoslavia were invited to a preparation meeting in Vienna in November 1980.

They decided that the summit would be a political discussion, not a place for making strict deals. It would be a chance for nations to share their ideas. President Reagan of the United States received a personal invitation to make sure the U.S. would participate.

Who Participated

The summit brought together 22 countries from five continents. There were eight leaders from industrialized nations and 14 from less economically developed nations. Each leader brought a small team of about ten people, including their foreign minister and translators. The United States' participation was very important because it provided a lot of financial aid to other countries.

Country	Representative	Title
United Nations	Kurt Waldheim	Secretary-General
Algeria	Chadli Bendjedid	President
Austria	Willibald Pahr	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Bangladesh	Abdus Sattar	President
Brazil	Ramiro Saraiva Guerreiro	Minister of External Relations
Canada	Pierre Trudeau	Prime Minister
China	Zhao Ziyang	Premier
France	François Mitterrand	President
Guyana	Forbes Burnham	President
India	Indira Gandhi	Prime Minister
Ivory Coast	Simeon Aké	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Japan	Zenko Suzuki	Prime Minister
Mexico	José López Portillo	President
Nigeria	Shehu Shagari	President
Philippines	Ferdinand Marcos	President
Saudi Arabia	Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud	Crown Prince
Sweden	Thorbjörn Fälldin	Prime Minister
Tanzania	Julius Nyerere	President
United Kingdom	Margaret Thatcher	Prime Minister
United States	Ronald Reagan	President
Venezuela	Luis Herrera Campins	President

Key Leaders and Their Roles

Mexican President José López Portillo: He was the main leader of the conference.
Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau: He was a co-leader of the summit.
French President François Mitterrand: He spoke about changing trade rules between rich and developing countries. He wanted France to help the Third World (developing nations).
Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang: He called for a new international economic order.

Main Goals of the Summit

The summit aimed to discuss new ways for the North and South to work together to help the South develop. A big part of this was the idea of a New International Economic Order (NIEO). This idea suggested that richer countries had a bigger responsibility to help solve global problems like poverty.

Developing countries (the G77) were worried about unfair trade, falling currency values, and debt. They wanted to discuss these issues at the summit. However, the existing economic systems and leaders like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher had different ideas about how the world economy should work.

What Was Discussed

There wasn't a strict plan for the meeting, but everyone agreed on four main topics: food, trade and industry, money, and energy.

Richer nations from the Global North didn't want to change the economic system too much. They preferred to talk about trade and supply issues. The United States and the United Kingdom especially wanted to keep things mostly the same.

Food and Farming

One big topic was fighting hunger. Everyone agreed that the main problem was getting food to people who needed it, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia. The leaders decided that helping poorer nations grow their own food was more important than just giving them food aid. They also talked about creating emergency food supplies for times of bad harvests.

Trade and Industry

Countries in Africa that relied on raw materials (like oil or minerals) wanted international agreements to keep prices stable. The oil crises of 1979-80 had caused huge money problems for countries that didn't produce oil. However, no new agreements were made about raw material prices. They did acknowledge delays in existing trade plans. There was also interest in using new technology to help countries develop.

Energy

There was a discussion about creating a new part of the World Bank to help developing nations build their own energy systems. Poorer countries were struggling to pay for the oil they needed to grow. Many European countries, Canada, and most developing nations liked this idea. Even countries that produced oil (OPEC members) were positive about it. However, the United States did not support creating a new international organization. In the end, this new energy agency was not created at Cancún.

Money and Financial Issues

Developing nations were concerned about the rules and policies of big financial groups like the IMF and World Bank. They felt these policies caused problems with their money balances. However, Global North countries supported these institutions, and no major changes were made to how they worked.

What Happened After

One of the few clear results from the summit was a plan to end world hunger by the year 2000. This goal has continued to be important in later United Nations plans, like the Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals. The plan focused on long-term support for countries facing hunger, along with short-term aid.

Many leaders, including Reagan, Thatcher, and Zenko Suzuki, said positive things about the summit in the news. They highlighted that it was a step forward in global talks. However, the international news often reported negatively because there weren't many big, concrete results. It had been decided before the summit that no official declaration was needed. After the conference, the idea of a New International Economic Order mostly faded from the goals of the Global South.

What Came Next

No other North–South Summit has happened since. In the late 1980s, tensions between the East and West (Cold War) became more important than North-South relations. So, the issues discussed at Cancún about developing countries didn't get as much attention afterward.

It seemed that the Global North was more focused on making money than on fixing inequalities. Also, there were different ideas among Global South countries about how to develop. Because of this, no strong group continued to push for the demands made at the North–South Summit. This lack of global teamwork led to a call for South-to-South cooperation, where developing countries would work together more.