Representatives from more than 190 countries met in Buenos Aires for the UN’s Conference on South-South Cooperation on March 20-22 with the specific aim of advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 agenda. It is only the second conference of its kind. The first took place in the Argentine capital in 1978.
The meeting stressed the urgent need to act to advance sustainable development and pledged to improve technical capabilities among southern states to resolve their domestic challenges. Countries also agreed to formalize cooperation on topics such as climate change, the environment, food security, human rights, and agriculture through bilateral and multilateral agreements.
“We have to take it to the next level”, said Achim Steiner, director of the UN Development Program. “We will not be able to achieve all the SDGs if we do not move forward in South-South cooperation”.
