United Nations agencies are putting in place practical measures to make South-South and triangular cooperation more coordinated, visible and results-focused across the UN system. Through a renewed Inter-Agency Mechanism and the new System-wide Strategy on South-South and Triangular Cooperation 2026-2029, the UN system aims to help countries connect more easily with relevant expertise, tested solutions and partnerships from across the Global South to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.
That momentum was reinforced during an expanded Inter-Agency Meeting on South-South and Triangular Cooperation, convened by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) on 14 May 2026.
Bringing together representatives from across the United Nations system, the meeting marked a significant step toward implementation of the newly endorsed United Nations System-wide Strategy on South-South and Triangular Cooperation 2026-2029 – a framework designed to strengthen coherence, accountability and collaboration across agencies working to advance sustainable development through South-South and triangular partnerships.
Opening the meeting, UNOSSC Director Dima Al-Khatib welcomed participants and thanked them for extensive contributions to the development of the new strategy and related global reports. She emphasized that while United Nations entities are already undertaking substantial work on South-South and triangular cooperation, greater coordination and visibility are needed to better demonstrate the United Nations system’s collective impact.
“Across the system, United Nations entities are doing a tremendous amount of work in this space,” the Director noted. “But often these efforts are communicated separately, and we are not always telling the bigger collective story of where our work may converge and what we are delivering together.”
The meeting introduced several institutional, operational and digital initiatives intended to reinvigorate the Inter-Agency Mechanism and strengthen system-wide implementation, moving forward.
Central to the discussions was UNOSSC’s Strategic Framework 2026-2029, which positions the Office as a stronger strategic leader, knowledge broker and convener for South-South and triangular cooperation across the United Nations development system.
Participants also discussed the new United Nations System-wide Strategy on South-South and Triangular Cooperation 2026-2029. The strategy positions South-South and triangular cooperation as a core modality for sustainable development and introduces a strengthened Inter-Agency Mechanism structure operating at both director and expert levels. Among its key features are a common scorecard to support accountability and monitoring, annual action plans to guide implementation, and stronger integration of South-South and triangular cooperation into United Nations planning frameworks and development programming.
The meeting also highlighted the launch of the United Nations System-wide Strategy on South-South and Triangular Cooperation 2026-2029 – a new multi-stakeholder platform designed to connect governments, United Nations entities and development partners through more practical and demand-driven cooperation.
As part of this effort, UNOSSC presented ongoing work to further strengthen its digital ecosystem, including continued development of South-South Galaxy+ and the Global Alliance platform. Planned features include AI-enabled tools to support trend analysis, matchmaking, experience-sharing and partnership development across the Global South.
United Nations entities broadly welcomed the direction of the new strategy and highlighted opportunities for deeper collaboration.
The International Labour Organization expressed strong support for the strategy’s emphasis on accountability and coherence, while the United Nations Development Programme raised practical considerations around implementation, including incentives for joint programming, integration with broader United Nations reform efforts and ensuring adequate human support alongside digital tools.
UN Women stressed the importance of mainstreaming gender equality throughout implementation efforts, while the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction welcomed the focused approach of the proposed scorecard and matchmaking platform.
The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific shared updates on its own AI-powered South-South Cooperation Connector platform and highlighted opportunities for interoperability and collaboration with the Global Alliance initiative.
UN-Habitat reaffirmed its growing partnership with UNOSSC and identified upcoming opportunities for collaboration, including joint engagements around the World Urban Forum 13 in Azerbaijan, and the Fourth High-Level International Conference on the Water Action Decade in Tajikistan.
The meeting also underscored the demand-based, targeted advisory support and technical support to select UNCTs developing UNSDCFs in 2025 and 2026; in Indonesia, Uganda, Mauritius, Seychelles, the Caribbean Multi-Country Office and Peru to help mainstream South-South cooperation into national planning frameworks
Meanwhile, updates on UNOSSC-managed trust funds highlighted both progress and implementation challenges. Agencies were encouraged to work with country offices to accelerate delivery rates and reduce delays under projects supported by the India-United Nations Development Partnership Fund and the India-United Nations Development Partnership Fund.
The discussion also pointed to the need for stronger storytelling and evidence around the results of South-South and triangular cooperation. While many initiatives are generating tangible benefits, participants noted that these outcomes are often captured in fragmented ways. A more coherent approach to communications and reporting could help show how partnerships among developing countries are delivering practical solutions, building institutional capacity and contributing to sustainable development outcomes. UNOSSC proposed the establishment of a network of communications focal points across the Inter-Agency Mechanism to strengthen coordination and align messaging.
The meeting reflected growing recognition across the United Nations system that South-South and triangular cooperation are increasingly central to efforts to accelerate Sustainable Development Goal implementation through practical, scalable and country-driven partnerships.
With the new System-wide Strategy, renewed Inter-Agency Mechanism and emerging digital platforms now in place, the focus will shift to implementation, ensuring that UN entities work together more effectively, respond to country demand and demonstrate measurable collective impact over the 2026-2029 period.
