On 20-22 March, the 2nd High-Level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation will be held in Buenos Aires and will be attended by approximately 1500 participants from the 193 UN member states, including Foreign Ministers, Ministers and even Presidents, in addition to authorities from international and regional organizations.
This multilateral Conference, the most important one on South-South Cooperation, is being held 40 years after the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA), through which —and for the first time— developing countries charted the path for technical cooperation.
Technical cooperation, which today is a substantial part of South-South Cooperation and a subject in which Argentina is a global reference point, is based on the exchange of experiences and transfer of knowledge with a view to supplementing national efforts on development issues and strengthening the capacities of States.
Argentina is currently running more than 165 cooperation projects together with 40 countries from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia in various areas, such as agro-industry, bio-technology, health, human rights, environment and production technology, where Argentina has great experience and highly qualified human capital.
Thus, through technical cooperation aimed at developing countries building their own capacities on various subjects, Argentina has an active and permanent presence in global scenarios of great dynamism and projection.
Argentina's importance and presence
Argentina's importance as host of the most important international conference on South-South Cooperation, in line with the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Buenos Aires in 2017 and the historic G20 Summit led by President Macri in late 2018, ratifies our integration into the world and relationship with all countries with agendas that create true opportunities for positive exchanges.
Background
The idea of establishing new forms of cooperation between developing countries, including what is today known as South-South cooperation, started in mid-1950 and had the international meeting in Buenos Aires 40 years ago as an important milestone.
Thus, BAPA marked the beginning of a new way in which States, based on solidary ties, without conditions and respectful of national priorities and interests, would face the challenges of development.
Topics and opportunities
The Conference is an opportunity to agree on a working plan and bolster the consensus reached within the framework of the 2030 Agenda, Paris Agreement and G20 on:
- sustainable food
- training of human resources
- technological advances
- climate sustainability
- gender equality
- development finance
- inclusive business
It is worth mentioning that this will be the only United Nations conference in the Latin American region during 2019.
The Conference will also serve as an opportunity for Argentina to hold bilateral and regional meetings with countries from Asia, the Caribbean and Africa and, through cooperation initiatives, create opportunities for the productive sector, scientific institutions and Argentine civil society organizations.
Furthermore, 150 side events on issues related to the Conference will take place in parallel.
Media outlets will be informed of accreditation procedures to cover the stages of this important event.
