United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation
United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 58/220 designated 12 September as the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation. This commemorates the 1978 adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (BAPA), a seminal framework that redefined collaboration among nations of the Global South. BAPA recognized the agency of developing countries not merely as aid recipients, but as partners, problem-solvers, and innovators in charting a shared path of development.
“On this United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, we celebrate the growing momentum of opportunity, innovation and solidarity across the Global South. In an increasingly multipolar world, developing countries are demonstrating remarkable resilience and ingenuity – not only in responding to crises, but in driving transformation.
They are creating bold, homegrown solutions and sharing them across borders, such as climate-smart agriculture, green technologies, digital finance and health breakthroughs. These solutions are forged in mutual respect, shared learning and common purpose.
South-South and triangular cooperation are engines of progress and vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet we also recognize the responsibilities of developed countries to help address rising inequalities and advance sustainable development. As we mark this important Day, let’s celebrate South-South collaboration as a catalyst for reinvigorated multilateralism and building a more inclusive, equitable world for all,” António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN speaking on the observation said.
In 2025, as the international community moves beyond the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and reflects on the outcomes of the 2024 Summit of the Future, the imperative of South-South cooperation has gained renewed urgency. The Summit’s Pact for the Future has infused momentum into multilateral reform and underscored the indispensable role of solidarity, collective action, and equitable global governance in shaping a just and sustainable world.
Development Challenges in a Polycrisis World
The global landscape remains fraught with overlapping crises:
- Climate change: intensifying disasters, from heatwaves to flooding, disproportionately affect Global South nations.
- Debt distress: many developing countries continue to allocate more resources to external debt servicing than to essential social investments.
- Digital inequality: uneven connectivity perpetuates divides in education, trade, and innovation.
- Health security and food systems: fragile supply chains and pandemic aftershocks continue to compromise resilience.
- Extreme poverty: as of 2025, over 650 million people remain trapped in conditions of deprivation.
These challenges not only undermine progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but also highlight the urgency of knowledge-sharing and context-sensitive solutions rooted in the realities of the Global South.
Focus on Triangular Cooperation
South-South and triangular cooperation function as dynamic development modalities. They are not a substitute for North-South engagement but provide complementary and adaptive pathways to address global challenges. This year’s theme, “New Opportunities and Innovation through South-South and Triangular Cooperation”, highlights the transformational potential of peer-to-peer solidarity in advancing sustainable development. Their added value lies in:
- Practical, adaptable models: grounded in domestic experiences of resilience, recovery, and economic adjustment.
- Innovation ecosystems: spanning digital transformation, climate-resilient agriculture, community-based health systems, and sustainable financing.
- Inclusive partnerships: bringing together governments, civil society, the private sector, and multilateral agencies in co-designing solutions.
- Triangular cooperation: scaling innovations by linking Global South initiatives with technical and financial support from Northern and multilateral partners.
The recent findings of UNOSSC’s Global Report on South-South Cooperation, “Bridging Horizons and Continents”, emphasize that solidarity-based cooperation is not just symbolic but a proven framework for resilience, scale, and sustainability.
Financing for a Stronger Future
At the 22nd Session of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation, Member States reaffirmed the necessity of sustainable financing mechanisms. Calls were made to:
Expand access to blended finance, debt-for-SDG swaps, and impact investment instruments.
Establish dedicated financing windows for South-South initiatives within UN entities.
Develop more predictable, longer-term financing models that move beyond ad hoc pledges.
These demands echo broader debates on reforming the international financial architecture to better serve low- and middle-income countries, an agenda also underscored by the Summit of the Future and the Third South Summit.
Strategic Arenas of Collective Action
The Global South today is not merely an arena of need but is emerging as an engine of innovation and leadership. Through South-South and triangular cooperation, countries are advancing systemic change in several key domains:
- Digital Transformation: scaling digital public infrastructure to expand financial inclusion, promote e-governance, and bridge connectivity gaps.
- Climate Resilience: advancing peer-driven climate adaptation strategies such as drought-resistant cultivation and regional renewable energy corridors.
- Health Systems: sharing innovations in universal health coverage, pandemic preparedness, and technology-enabled care.
- Sustainable Financing and Trade: strengthening regional value chains, building trade corridors, and creating South-led mechanisms to reduce vulnerabilities.
Toward a Just, Peaceful, and Sustainable World
The Global South is home to the majority of humanity and a critical source of solutions to today’s pressing challenges. By harnessing the strength of shared experiences, resources, and capacities, South-South cooperation embodies the spirit of global solidarity. It is central to achieving the Pact for the Future’s call for a just and peaceful world.
Member States across multiple fora — from BAPA+40 High-level Conference on South-South Cooperation to the High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries — have underlined the need to mobilize these modalities more strategically. The message is clear: countries of the Global South have much to offer, irrespective of their stage of development.
