Antalya: South-South Development Expo closes with strengthened cooperation to achieve Global Goals
The Global South-South Development Expo (GSSD) wrapped up on Thursday in Antalya, Turkey, with delegations from dozens of countries, key international organizations, and United Nations agencies reaffirming their commitment to strengthening partnerships and cooperation agreements to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Global South-South Development Expo 2017 wrapped up on Thursday in Antalya, Turkey, with delegations from dozens of countries, key international organizations, and United Nations agencies reaffirming their commitment to strengthen partnerships and cooperation agreements to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“We are extremely happy with the results of the Expo, we organize this event every year to create a space for the countries of the south, partnering institutions and other States including from the global north, to join together and establish new relationships to get more and better South-South cooperation,” underscored Jorge Chediek, the Director of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC).
The 2017 Expo, which opened Monday, was hosted by the Government of Turkey and coordinated by UNOSSC. It focused on solutions ‘for the South, by the South, throughout the week. It drew more than 800 participants from 120 countries, and more than 30 media representatives who engaged in over 37 plenary and side events.
The theme “South-South Cooperation in the Era of Economic, Social and Environmental Transformation: The Road to the 40th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA+40),” aimed to engage stakeholders to scale up concrete solutions from the Global South to achieve the landmark UN 2030 Agenda and its 17 Global Goals.
During the closing ceremony, Mr. Chediek conveyed warm greetings from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who attached great importance to South-South cooperation as a key ingredient of the efforts to achieve the SDGs and to combat climate change.
In his message, the UN chief thanked Expo participants for their commitment to sharing the knowledge, best practices and successes of the South.
“Many of the achievements of the expo are not reflected in these very impressive numbers themselves, they are reflected in the partnerships that are being established, in institutional friendships and agreements that are been developed and that will certainly generate results,” stressed Mr. Chediek.
Six publications were launched during the Expo, and over 90 institutional and individual partners expressed interest in nine initiatives covering issues that range from youth empowerment to rural development.
Earlier today, the first Steering Committee meeting of the South-South Global Thinkers initiative took place at the Expo launching a brand new online platform that will connect think tank networks from across all regions to exchange, share knowledge and collaborate on joint research.
A High-Level Forum of National Directors-General for Development Cooperation was also held today, to discuss insights and proposals for the preparatory process of the Second UN High-Level Conference on South-South Cooperation to be hosted by the Government of Argentina in March 2019, marking 40 years of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.