UN South-South Stakeholders' and High-Level Development Cooperation Directors-General Meeting

South-South cooperation focal points from United Nations organizations called for opportunities for increased knowledge exchange and mutual learning. In response to this call, the GSSD Expo 2012 will feature a South-South Stakeholders Meeting prior to the Directors-General Meeting. This segment aims to bring together focal points from United Nations organizations, regional development banks and regional economic commissions.

United Nations South-South Stakeholders Meeting aims at providing a forum for United Nations system development practitioners to share best practices and lessons learned in their support to South-South and triangular cooperation while also creating effective inter-agency networks to improve the mainstreaming of South-South and triangular cooperation across the United Nations system and among regional and international partners.

Building on the great success of similar meetings during previous GSSD Expos, the High-level Directors-General Meeting on South-South and Triangular Cooperation is designed to provide a unique space for Directors-General of cooperation agencies (national and international) to share experiences, exchange best practices and build new partnerships, with the common goal of helping to scale up the development impact of such cooperation.

Participants are encouraged to discuss experiences, best practices, solutions and opportunities in the following areas:

(a) Global Development Solutions and South-South and Triangular Cooperation: Introduction and discussion of best practices of South-South and triangular cooperation in the fields of critical development issues, including: sustainable development; social protection and decent work; food security; climate change and environment; global health; HIV/AIDS and education. Special consideration will be given to LDCs as targeted countries as well as to methods of accelerating achievement of the MDGs;

(b) Implementation Structure of South-South and Triangular Cooperation and Promotion of Regional Cooperation: Discussion focusing on strengthening of the policy strategy and structure of the implementation/management of South-South and triangular cooperation; promotion of regional cooperation; and roles of middle-income countries and regional organizations;

(c) Capacity Development for Better Management of South-South and Triangular Cooperation: Discussion of best practices and lessons learned in knowledge management and knowledge-sharing, peer learning and scaling up as well as discussion of innovative proposals for capacity development; and

(d) The Way Forward: Discussion of new proposals for further mainstreaming South-South and triangular cooperation, including the expected roles of UNDP and other United Nations organizations in facilitating South-South and triangular cooperation. Specific roles of the United Nations organizations at the regional and country levels will be explored.

For further information on the Directors General/High-level Meeting on South-South and Triangular Cooperation, please contact: Mami Yamada at mami.yamada@undp.org