36th Annual Meeting of the Committee of Experts of the Pérez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF)

The Annual Meeting of the Committee of Experts of the Pérez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF) opened today, and will be in session through 30 July, to review progress across the Fund’s portfolio and recommend a new round for projects for approval.

“This is the second Annual Committee Meeting that we advance virtually due to the pandemic. We will be reviewing project progress in the backdrop of COVID-19 and its devastating impact across the Global South. We also look forward to approving new initiatives that contribute to enabling Southern solidarity despite these challenging times,” said Mr. Eduardo Praselj, Chair of the Committee of Experts.

South-South Cooperation project grants approved by PGTF require a minimum of three developing countries participation and endorsement. The fund supports, every year, a number of joint-research, knowledge-sharing, joint publications, conferences, trainings and technical cooperation initiatives. All PGTF projects are aligned with South-South principles and the cornerstone documents of South-South Cooperation in the multilateral system, including the Buenos Aires Plan of Actions +40 (BAPA+40) Outcome Document.

Partnering governments are leading actors in project sourcing, implementation and on the actual technical cooperation activities.

“UNDP – notably through its network of Country Offices across the developing world – has a long history of providing instrumental support to PGTF. At UNOSSC, we are pleased to enhance the visibility and coordination of this important partnership. UNOSSC was pleased to brief the Committee on the very favorable feedback we received this year at the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation of the UN GA on the achievements of PGTF, as well as other South-South Funds managed by UNOSSC.”— said Mr. Adel Abdellatif, Director a.i., United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation.

Since 1983, PGTF has supported 361 South-South cooperation projects, through $ 15.5 million in financial support. 134 countries have directly participated in PGTF initiatives.

The Committee makes recommendations on projects for their subsequent approval at the Group of 77 Ministerial Meeting. It also reviews contributions by Member States, the performance of its endowment fund and progress across ongoing projects.

Participants in the meeting:

From PGTF:

Mr. Abdelhakim Mihoubi
Ambassador of Algeria to Angola
Luanda, Angola

Mr. Cedrick C. Crowley
Director – Economic Development
Department of International Relations and Cooperation
Pretoria, South Africa

Mr. Eduardo Praselj (Chairman)
Former Vicepresident of Petróleos de Venezuela
Former President of Petroquímica de Venezuela
Former Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines
Caracas, Venezuela

Mr. Paisan Rupanichkij
Ambassador of Thailand to Mexico
Mexico City, Mexico

Mr. Marcelo Suárez Salvia
Ambassador of Argentina to Trinidad and Tobago
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

From UNOSSC:

Mr. Adel Abdellatif
Director, Ad Interim (a.i.)

Ms. Xiaojun Grace Wang
Deputy Director for Programme and Operations

Ms. Ines Tofalo
Chief, Programme Support Unit

Mr. Donaldo Lopez
Fund Administration Specialist

Ms. Gentiana Xhavara
Trust Fund Programme Analyst