At a roundtable convened on the margins of the 2025 High-level Political Forum, development partners gathered at the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) to reaffirm commitment to translating the
Freetown Declaration into action – transforming the outcomes of the
Third Africa High-level Forum on South-South and Triangular Cooperation into bold, regional development solutions.
Hosted by UNOSSC and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the hybrid event, themed
“Taking the Freetown Declaration into Action: Leveraging South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Sustainable Development in Africa,” brought together ministers, diplomats, multilateral institutions, and youth voices to exchange strategies for implementing the Freetown Declaration and scaling South-South and triangular cooperation across the continent.
Freetown Forum: From Continental Commitment to Coordinated Action
Opening the dialogue,
Ms. Dima Al-Khatib, Director of UNOSSC, emphasized that the success of South-South and triangular cooperation depends on “empowering regional institutions and mechanisms as core agents of cooperation.” She called for targeted capacity-building and robust partnership frameworks to place regional South-South cooperation at the center of SDG and Agenda 2063 implementation.
H.E. Kenyeh Barlay, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, reflected on the significance of the May 2025 Forum hosted in Freetown
under the leadership of President Julius Maada Bio, calling it “not just a forum – but a continental turning point.”
The Freetown Declaration, adopted at the conclusion of the Forum, outlines an ambitious framework to mainstream South-South and triangular cooperation across national governance systems, deepen regional partnerships, promote digital governance and civil service reform, and empower women and youth as agents of transformation.
Minister Barlay affirmed Sierra Leone’s commitment to the Declaration, announcing the
establishment of a Directorate of South-South Cooperation within her ministry to coordinate implementation and partnerships. “This is not a symbolic gesture,” she said. “We are moving from declaration to delivery – ready to lead by example.”
Sierra Leone’s Strategic Priorities for South-South and Triangular Cooperation
In her remarks, Minister Barlay laid out Sierra Leone’s priorities for operationalizing the Freetown Declaration:
- Institutionalizing South-South and triangular cooperation through national development planning frameworks and an inter-ministerial coordination mechanism;
- Knowledge exchange on civil service reform (building on collaboration with Egypt), digital governance, and climate-resilient agriculture through Sierra Leone’s Feed Salone initiative;
- Inclusive development with a focus on youth employment (targeting 500,000 jobs) and gender-responsive entrepreneurship under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA);
- Regional integration, leveraging Sierra Leone’s leadership role as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government to promote democratic governance, regional security, economic integration, and institutional reform.
The Minister called for strategic, solutions-oriented partnerships to support these priorities – particularly through technical cooperation, peer learning, and joint programming with countries across the Global South.
Speaking on behalf of
Amb. Marie- Antoinette Rose Quatre, Chief Executive Officer, APRM Continental Secretariat, the African Peer Review Chief of Staff reiterated APRM’s key role and aim of equipping African countries with the frameworks and foresight needed to embed the South-South cooperation into their development plans noting that countries such as Rwanda, Egypt, and Morocco have demonstrated how legal, policy, and institutional reforms can embed South-South Cooperation at the national level and are working to document these best practices and support their scaling across the continent.
Voices from Across Africa and the Global South
Professor Sachin Chaturvedi of India reflected on the continuity between regional platforms, from the second to the third Forum, and the growing momentum for Global South solidarity.
Mr. Raymond Maro, Co-Founder & CEO, Ele-vate AI Africa, South Africa, brought a youth and private sector perspective, urging structured support for young innovators and entrepreneurs through national and regional platforms.
Representatives from Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, Islamic Development Bank, OECD, UNDP, WFP and UNCTAD echoed support for the Freetown Declaration, emphasizing that South-South and triangular cooperation are not merely a modality but a strategy for resilience, equity, and reform.
Charting the Way Forward: Key Takeaways
- The Freetown Declaration offers a comprehensive framework for mainstreaming South-South and triangular cooperation into Africa’s development agenda, with actionable commitments ranging from governance reform to digital transformation and food security.
- Sierra Leone has emerged as a continental leader in operationalizing South-South and triangular cooperation through institutional innovation and political leadership, including President Julius Maada Bio’s appointment as Chair of ECOWAS.
- Partners across the Global South, including the APRM, UNOSSC, and others, are working to replicate successful models, such as the Egypt-Sierra Leone cooperation on civil service reform.
- Triangular cooperation remains essential, inviting the support of Northern partners in advancing shared goals through knowledge, financing, and technical expertise.
A Call to Action: From Vision to Execution
Participants agreed that the Declaration’s power lies in its actionable vision and its grounding in inclusive dialogue – from governments and institutions to youth and civil society. With sustained political will, capacity support, and peer exchange, the Freetown Declaration can serve as a cornerstone for building the
Africa We Want – resilient, self-reliant, and united through South-South solidarity.
Contact:
Ms. Cynthia Olouasa, Regional Policy Analyst, UNOSSC |
cynthia.olouasa@unossc.org
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WFP video remarks, delivered by Dr. Hameed Nuru, Director, WFP office to the African Union
