South-South Cooperation Day 2021

United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation 2021


To highlight the importance of South-South cooperation and to mark the day in 1978 when the United Nations Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries adopted the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (A/C.2/66/L.48), the General Assembly proclaimed 12 September as the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation.

The 2021 high-level commemoration of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, organized ahead of the opening of the seventy-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly, provides an opportunity to discuss Southern solidarity in support of a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future while effectively responding to the global COVID-19 crisis in order to recover better across the global South. This United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation will also be an opportunity to highlight concrete follow-up to the twentieth session of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation, which took place from 1 to 4 June 2021 in New York.

More than a year and a half into the pandemic, it is evident that decades of development progress are threatened and that we are facing an uncertain future shaped by economic and social crises. Global partnership, including through South-South cooperation, is essential to overcome the challenges of the pandemic and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. As we move towards a post-pandemic reality and recovery, South-South cooperation will contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, instability and development inequalities while promoting the principle of effective ownership of national development strategies.
 
South-South Cooperation Day 2021

South-South and triangular cooperation must have a central place in our preparations for a strong recovery. We will need the full contributions and cooperation of the global South to build more resilient economies and societies and implement the Sustainable Development Goals

António Guterres, UN Secretary-General

Main Event:


● South-South cooperation: solidarity in support of a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future

High-level Panel Discussion
10 September 2021, 9–11 a.m. (NY time)

Watch the video recording of the event:

During the interactive discussion, Member States, United Nations entities and other stakeholders deliberated on and shared concrete initiatives, actions and recommendations for implementing key decisions arising from the second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (BAPA+40) and the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation, including the United Nations system-wide strategy on South-South and triangular cooperation for sustainable development, 2020–2024.

More than ever, we need collective political determination, solidarity and cooperation to fight against this global health crisis among other development challenges such as poverty, climate change and increasing inequality. In responding to these global challenges, our future work will have to be based on building more inclusive and resilient societies, empowering women and youth, leveraging digital, greener and bluer initiatives, and sustainable financing. South-South cooperation works, and together we can ensure its impactful contributions moving forward.
Main Event Agenda
Message from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres:
Other videos:

Side Events:


● Launch of South-South Ideas paper: Institutionalization and impact assessment of South-South and triangular cooperation, key findings and recommendations from Southern think tanks

13 September 2021, 9:00–10:30 a.m. (NY time)
More information

● Launch of Good Practices in South-South and Triangular Cooperation: Scaling Up Made-in-Africa Solutions

14 September 2021, 8:30–10:00 a.m. (NY time)
More information

● Leveraging Triangular Partnerships to Respond to COVID-19 and Build Back Better

14 September 2021, 9:30–11:00 a.m. (NY time)
More information
Commemoration of the 2021 UN Day for South-South Cooperation around the world:

South-South Cooperation Day on Twitter

Follow the hashtags #SouthSouth and #SouthSouthCooperation