South-south and triangular cooperation - UNDESA

South-South cooperation is one of the three principal focus areas of the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF), a core function of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The DCF is mandated to reviews the latest trends and progress in international development cooperation, and to encourage coordination across diverse actors and activities. The DCF provides a trusted, open and inclusive space where Southern partners can share their experiences, good practices, solutions and challenges amongst themselves, and with a range of actors in international development cooperation. The 2016 High-level meeting of the Development Cooperation Forum, held in New York, stressed that South-South cooperation preserves policy and fiscal space for developing countries, responds directly to their local demands and that it had the great potential to reduce asymmetries in access to development opportunities. Participants emphasized the need to develop South-South institutions and exchanges while preserving the strategic focus of this framework in promoting autonomy, resilience and structural change.

As the Secretariat to the DCF, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) leads UN system-wide efforts in estimating the quantum of South-South and triangular cooperation, its geographical and sectorial distribution, effectiveness and impact. Through its evidence-based analytical work and policy dialogue, UNDESA continues to generate ideas and policy advice aimed at promoting and enhancing the effectiveness of South-South cooperation. It supports the ongoing discussions among Southern partners on improving the availability, quality, and comparability of data and information on their development cooperation efforts to enhance the evidence base on achieving sustainable development results. UNDESA presents this work in the Report of the Secretary-General on trends and progress in development cooperation, the annual report of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Financing for Development, and in its International Development Cooperation Report.

For more information: https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/south-south-cooperation or contact dcf [at] un.org