31 May 2017: UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Peter Thomson updated UN Member States on preparations toward a high-level UN conference on South-South cooperation, announcing the appointment of Adonia Ayebara, Permanent Representative of Uganda and President of the UN High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation, to lead intergovernmental consultations and negotiations.

Ayebara will facilitate UN Member States’ discussions on the nature, date, objectives and modalities of the high-level conference, which will take place by the first half of 2019, per a UNGA resolution of 21 December 2016 (A/Res/71/244).

In 1978, Member States adopted the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, making the Plan of Action 40 years old in 2018. A UN high-level conference on South-South cooperation also took place in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2009.

In May 2017, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat and the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General released a report highlighting the great potential for developing countries to advance action on climate change through cooperation among countries of the global South, titled ‘Catalyzing the Implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions in the Context of the 2030 Agenda through South-South Cooperation.’ The authors note that South-South cooperation can help developing countries implement the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. [Letter from UNGA President] [Resolution A/Res/71/244] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on South-South Cooperation Report]