United Nations South-South Cooperation Day. United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation) — is one of the UN's international days, celebrated annually on September 12.
On this day in 1978, in the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires, delegations of 138 states adopted the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.
The term «South-South» cooperation refers to the exchange of knowledge, technology and resources between countries in the global South, that is, developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
South-South cooperation is an important element of international development cooperation and offers real opportunities for developing countries and countries with economies in transition to achieve sustained economic growth and sustainable development through individual and collective efforts.
On December 23, 2003, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 58/220, in which it decided to proclaim December 19 as United Nations South-South Cooperation Day. Since on this day the General Assembly approved the Action Plan for the Development and Implementation of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, adopted in Buenos Aires. And on December 22, 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted a new resolution stating that, starting in 2012, it was decided to celebrate South-South Cooperation Day of the United Nations on September 12, in honor of the adoption of the Plan of Action on this day in 1978 in Buenos Aires.
Over the past two decades, the world has undergone a dramatic economic and political transformation. Changes, especially in the South, have been more rapid than at any time in the same period in world history. Relations between the countries of the South and between the South and North are acquiring a completely new character. The key challenges of the day, such as the environment and climate change, energy and food security, global poverty, the link between growth and justice and migration, today go far beyond North-South relations and are becoming global.
Many countries of the South already have extensive financial and technical capabilities. In an attempt to involve all possible parties in solving global problems, they are beginning to transfer part of these — resources on concessional and commercial terms — to other countries of the South, spreading the fruits of globalization more widely, creating new markets and laying a broader basis for sustainable economic growth.
In recent years, a number of countries in the South, guided by many years of experience in providing assistance and other cooperation among developing countries, have become major partners in the field of development cooperation. The share of countries in the South in achieving global economic growth is more than 50 percent, and in world trade — is more than 25 percent.
The Assembly strongly encourages all relevant UN system organizations and other agencies to intensify efforts to effectively utilize South-South cooperation in the design, formulation and implementation of their regular programs and to consider allocating more human, technical and financial resources to support South cooperation initiatives -South.