United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation – September 12, 2024

History of United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation

Cooperation between countries has been one of the tenets of the United Nations Organizations since its founding. South-south cooperation in particular started gaining attention due to the growth in differences in income, G.D.P., and human development between countries of different regions. Indeed, one of the aims of this observance is to promote cooperation among developing countries. This is what led to the creation of the United Nations Development Program in 1965, and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, within the U.N. system, in 1974.

This office is the main organizational body behind the International Day for South-South Cooperation and coordinates the different cooperation initiatives with the U.N. In 1978, after the conference of the Global South, the U.N. implemented one of the earliest programs enabling this form of cooperation. With the advances in technology, technical cooperation became an increasingly important issue for the economic growth of developing countries. The U.N. Conference on South-South Cooperation became a yearly event, held to set specific benchmarks, programs, and objectives in terms of enabling this form of international cooperation.

In 2009, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation became an independent entity within the U.N., which would provide it with more resources and enable it to plan large-scale cooperative programs. In 2015, the Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted, one of the most important documents about the U.N.’s South-South Cooperation initiative. With this adoption, several governments will take part in a collaborative effort, implementing technical cooperation programs, benefiting the economic growth of developing countries.