The logic of sharing : Indian approach to South-South cooperation

India's development cooperation programmes reflect the broad principles that inform Indian foreign policy in general. In essence they reflect sovereign equality and belief in friendly relations with all countries, particularly India's neighbours coupled with opposition to colonialism and a continued commitment to the amplification of human freedom and the creation of equitable conditions for the peaceful and harmonious development of nations. Indian nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi underlined that while the juxtaposition of peace and prosperity is not a contrivance for establishing moral prospects, the two conditions are indissolubly linked. Such pragmatism is evident in the genesis and evolution of India's development cooperation policy.

Independent India has a history of successful cooperation with other developing countries. The extension of Indian resources and expertise to the global South, which dates back to the early 1950s, became institutionalized under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) established in 1964. Although the scale of India's development cooperation has been modest, it has expanded along with the country's emergence as a rapidly growing economy, at a time when development assistance available from other major emerging economies has also been growing significantly