United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation 2022

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 2022 high-level commemoration of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation will be organized during the Global South-South Development (GSSD) Expo. The event – held under the theme Key Priorities and Future Directions in Advancing South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Sustainable COVID-19 Recovery: Towards a Smart and Resilient Future – will be co-hosted by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), Government of Thailand and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). During the event, stakeholders will have an opportunity to reflect on the vital role of South-South and triangular cooperation in supporting Member States to achieve the 2030 Agenda and deliver on the Decade of Action, while effectively recovering from the global COVID-19 crisis, and building resilient, sustainable, smart and inclusive societies.

South-South and Triangular cooperation are critical for developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate disruption, address the global health crisis, including COVID-19 recovery, and achieve all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It must play an ever-increasing role in resolving our common challenges.

António Guterres, UN Secretary-General


Commemorative messages:


Main Event:

● Key Priorities and Future Directions in Advancing South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Sustainable COVID-19 Recovery: Towards a Smart and Resilient Future

High-level Panel Discussion
Monday, 12 September 2022
18:20-19:45 BKK time / 7:20-8:45 am NY time
United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC), Bangkok, Thailand

The global landscape has shifted significantly in recent decades. The world has seen important economic and demographic changes, cascading impact of climate change, a global health pandemic, a rise in global conflict and refugee flows, and rapid advancement in the availability and use of digital technologies. These developments have fundamentally changed the way that people live, work, connect and socialize. They offer new challenges but also provide new opportunities for human development.

Achieving the ambitious targets of the 2030 Agenda and adapting to the changing global context mentioned above will require engagement from stakeholders leveraging their diverse and unique advantages. South-South and triangular cooperation are important cornerstones of development activity and will serve as vital modalities for action as complements to North-South cooperation. “As the world recovers from the devastating social, economic and human impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, along with existing threats of climate change, South-South and triangular cooperation is the need of the hour,” said Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General.

This event will provide an opportunity for UN Member States to celebrate the UN Day for South-South cooperation and to reflect on their advocacy and commitment towards the contribution of South-South and triangular cooperation to urgent development solutions.

This event will also feature the launch of the publication “Good Practices in South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Sustainable Development – Vol. 4.” The new volume features more than 130 good practices presented by over 50 partners, including Member States, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), United Nations entities, and other development stakeholders. The volume includes solutions on COVID-19 response and recovery, poverty alleviation, climate action, trade facilitation and digitalization. Building on the three prior highly successful editions, the 2022 volume significantly expands the South-South and triangular cooperation knowledge base across all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting innovation, and a greater diversity of partners now leveraging South-South and triangular cooperation collaboration for development.

A reception and a cultural event will be hosted by the Government of Thailand and UNESCAP.


Commemoration of the 2022 UN Day for South-South Cooperation around the world: