Foreign policy is the main driver of Brazilian South–South cooperation and it has shaped the focus and geographical position of technical cooperation. Brazil has worked efficiently and proactively in the development of an international development agenda and increased its participation in international organizations seeking to propose and negotiate changes in the rules of global governance. In this context, the country has proposed measures for improved governance on financial flows, fairer global trade rules for poor countries and increased participation of developing countries in international organizations, particularly in the UN System, Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and institutions responsible for negotiating and setting monitoring standards and rules and managing the risks of national and international financial institutions. Furthermore, Brazil has increased its participation in various cooperation actions with developing countries, especially in South America, Central America, and Africa. In the South–South technical cooperation Brazil participates focusing on capacity development in partner countries through mobilization of a large number of Brazilian domestic institutions both from the public and private sectors in areas considered the most relevant to the partner countries. This cooperation has been developed under South-South cooperation principles as included in the "Nairobi Outcome Document of the High-Level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation" (Resolution GA/64/222). 

The good results achieved by Brazil’s horizontal cooperation may be accredited to flexibility and versatility, characteristics that stem from Brazil’s distinct profile as a country that is still establishing enduring values within its society. The approach adopted by Brazilian South–South cooperation focuses on structural impact projects to promote the strengthening of institutional capacity for the formulation and implementation of strategies that are linked to long-term policies and targeted at the fundamental causes of poverty and hunger. Brazilian South–South cooperation focuses mostly on agriculture and food security, education, professional training, and health. Brazil believes that the South-South cooperation is an effective mechanism for sharing information, experiences, and practices developed by both sides under similar socio-economic realities, enabling mutual enrichment of their respective domestic knowledge basis.

Brazil regards the multilateral trading system as the priority of its foreign trade policy, as it is one of the main pillars of the establishment of a fair and balanced global economic system that can foster welfare and mitigate poverty worldwide.

Technical cooperation among the members of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) favours the exchange of knowledge and serves as a stimulus for the development of new techniques more suitable to the needs of the economic bloc. It also helps to promote the basic goals of Mercosur, since it fosters innovation, diversifies the offer of goods and services and facilitates the adoption of common procedures and quality standards. Thus, in Mercosur, technical cooperation is a mean to facilitate the circulation of goods, people, and services, resulting in a more solid socio-economic integration.