“Solidarity is the key and it is clear that we need more and more South-South partnerships,” H.E. Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President of General Assembly, said in meetings today with Mr. Jorge Chediek, Director of UNOSSC and Envoy of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation.
The President of General Assembly highlighted that South-South and triangular cooperation comprise a very important part of his agenda and key priorities. He noted that, in his capacity as PGA, he was planning to emphasize the importance of South-South cooperation during the Third South Summit to be hosted by Uganda in April 2020.
H.E. Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande explained that South-South cooperation and partnership between UNOSSC and the Office of the PGA would be central to work on two of his key priorities: education and climate action.
He also noted that he has a strong interest in South-South cooperation in agriculture, and proposed to organize a high-level meeting and interactive dialogue in early 2020 under the theme: “Targeting Poverty and Hunger: South-South cooperation for Rural Food Systems”. “It would be a great opportunity,” he said “to provide visibility of the impact of SSC for people on the ground.”
Mr. Chediek highlighted the political importance of the upcoming High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation session – the first following the adoption of the Buenos Aires outcome document of the second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation – which will be held from 26 to 29 May 2020. The High-level Committee is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly serves as the main policymaking body on South-South cooperation in the United Nations. Mr. Chediek assured the President of General Assembly that UNOSSC stands ready to support projects through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, a dedicated facility within the United Nations Fund for South-South Cooperation established in 2017. The Fund is supported and led by the Government of the Republic of India, managed by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, and implemented in collaboration with the United Nations system.
Mr. Chediek expressed gratitude to PGA for keeping South-South cooperation high on his agenda and expressed UNOSSC’s readiness to support the organization of the interactive dialogue in early 2020 leveraging South-South cooperation toward alleviating poverty and hunger.
Mr. Tarik Iziraren, UNOSSC Deputy Director, and Ms. Lidija Bubanja, UNOSSC Policy Specialist, also participated in the meeting.
