SANTIAGO, Chile, CMC – The executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Tuesday said the creation of the Regional Conference on South-South Cooperation in 2021 marked a decisive step towards more integrated and practical cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“This space has strengthened ties between countries from the Global South and has opened new doors to triangular cooperation with extra-regional actors, donors, and international organizations,” Salazar-Xirinachs, the two-day Conference analyzing the challenges of international cooperation in shaping the new regional and global context.
The two-day second session of the Regional Conference on South-South Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has brought together representatives of the region’s countries, the United Nations system, as well as regional and international organizations.
The opening ceremony emphasized that international cooperation is a tool for solidarity. Still, it is also a structural necessity for building a more productive, inclusive, sustainable, just, and resilient future in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In his address, Salazar-Xirinachs stated that the Conference is taking place in a global context marked by multiple crises, significant geopolitical shifts, and competition among major economies and powers.
“This is a context that I would even describe as a crisis in international cooperation, where certain countries and views are questioning multilateralism, the United Nations system, and international cooperation.
“That is why we must rethink the role of South-South and triangular cooperation as a critical mechanism for strengthening capacities, mobilizing resources, and promoting solutions tailored to regional and national realities,” he said.
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Salazar-Xirinachs stated that international cooperation is essential for ensuring security, stability, and collective well-being in a profoundly interconnected world. He added that in times of crisis, it is not just an ethical option but rather a strategic necessity for surviving and prospering together.
He said that the current scenario requires courage, creativity, pragmatism, conviction, and commitment, along with a long-term vision.
“Global economic and geopolitical conditions could not be more complex, and while there are opportunities, this is an unfriendly time for growth and development efforts. I hope that this Conference can be a game changer: a platform for renewing commitments, building bridges, activating concrete solutions, and accelerating the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The future is not set in stone: it is in our hands, and it starts with what we decide to do together, today, here and now,” he told the delegates.
The Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), Dima Al-Khatib, who addressed the Conference virtually, noted that Latin America and the Caribbean have played a unique and special role in the history and evolution of development cooperation.
“It was in this region that UN member states first convened to shape a development cooperation that would transform traditional paradigms, heavier in development assistance and aid, rather than cooperation,” she stated.
Director General of International Cooperation at the Argentine Foreign Ministry, Mateo Estremé, stated that measuring cooperation among developing countries is crucial to strengthening their global leadership, enhancing their effectiveness, and advancing together towards sustainable development.
He also underlined the relevance of incorporating multi-stakeholder cooperation modalities: “In a context of reduced official resources for international cooperation, we must design strategies that would allow us to incorporate the participation of the private sector, academia, and other actors, and to integrate these sectors in the design and implementation of cooperation activities.”
On the first day of this meeting, delegates elected Chile to serve as Chair of the Regional Conference on South-South Cooperation for the next two years.
The Regional Conference on South-South Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean was established by resolution 752 and approved by member countries at the 36th session of ECLAC’s Committee of the Whole in December 2021.
Some of the objectives of this subsidiary body of ECLAC are to examine the experiences of South-South and triangular cooperation in Latin American and Caribbean countries and to make progress in evaluating them in conjunction with the relevant subsidiary bodies that conduct studies in this field.
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