September 12: International Day for South-South Cooperation

The International Day for South-South Cooperation is observed on September 12, every year by the United Nations.

Key Facts

• The day highlights the efforts made by United Nations for cooperation among the developing countries.
• It is an initiative for the economic, social and political developments of the countries located in Southern region.

What is South-South Cooperation?

• Basically, the South-South cooperation refers to “technical cooperation” between developing countries in the Global South.
• Technical cooperation among countries of Global South started as a pioneering effort to strengthen diplomatic and international negotiating power among the nations, with the help of political dialogue.
• South-South collaboration helps the developing nations to share knowledge, expertise, skills, and resources in order to meet their development goals by concerted efforts.

Significance of the day

According to United Nations, for South-South Cooperation, this initiative clearly shows the solidarity among peoples and countries of the South that contributes for well-being the wellbeing of the nation. It also shows the national & collective self-reliance of the people and attainment of internationally agreed development goals as well as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Buenos Aire Plan of Action (BAPA)

The day also commemorates the adoption of “Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA). BAPA was adopted in 1978 to promote and implement technical cooperation among developing countries by 138 member states.

Objectives of South-South Cooperation

South-South Cooperation was started with the objective of:

1. Enhancing self-reliance among developing countries and finding out creative solutions for their development problems.
2. Promoting self-reliance by exchanging experiences.
3. Recognising and responding to the problems and requirements of the least developed countries in order to enable them to achieve a greater degree of participation in international economic activities.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2021