CIFTIS 2022 - 2022 International Forum on South-South Cooperation and Trade in Services: Shaping a Global Greener Future Through South-South Technical Cooperation

A recording of these remarks can be found on YouTube and Tencent Video

Excellencies,

I thank the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE), and the Alliance of International Science Organizations for the invitation to address the 2022 International Forum on South-South Cooperation and Trade in Services during the China International Fair for Trade in Services.

The world today is facing tremendous challenges. Many countries worldwide, especially developing countries, are still recovering from the negative impacts of economic shocks brought forward by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response, the United Nations is committed to promoting collaborative partnerships amongst all Member States and stakeholders, in order to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To realize all SDGs by 2030 and the associated 169 targets, international cooperation, especially South-South and triangular cooperation, is crucial for effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national development priorities.

Technology and innovation are central driving forces to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth. South-South Cooperation is a potential vehicle to share and disseminate knowledge and facilitate policy and technical exchange. Countries and stakeholders can share expertise, technology and financial resources that support more resilient and sustainable economies.

Ladies and Gentlemen, global challenges require global solutions. Trustworthy, collaborative partnerships are the key to solving the challenges ahead.

The UN Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, has recognized China’s role in international cooperation, saying, “China’s achievements provide valuable lessons in poverty alleviation that are being shared with other countries through South-South Cooperation.”

Through renewed multilateral efforts under the framework of South-South Cooperation, we can realize the opportunities this presents to accelerate global SDG progress.

President Xi Jinping made it clear when he said, “we need to jointly build international consensus on promoting development.”

Here, we welcome the pragmatic steps China has recently taken to support South-South Cooperation, including upgrading the South-South Cooperation Fund to a Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund – adding US$ 1 billion to the fund on top of the US$ 3 billion already committed.

While the UN’s SDG Fund supports the peer-to-peer exchange of knowledge and experiences in development among programme countries, the UN also promotes effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of relevant stakeholders.  

On this, the UN system in China hopes to engage with China as an international development cooperation partner, to leverage its contributions beyond its borders as a provider of South-South Cooperation and Finance towards global challenges, including the fight against climate change.

The UN Country Team in China looks forward to more concrete steps and to supporting the implementation of our host country’s South-South Cooperation efforts by providing technical assistance to ensure compliance with recognized international norms and standards.

Over the past decade, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has been supporting the development of sustainable industrial parks in China through technical cooperation projects.

Earlier this year, based on UNIDO’s “International Guidelines for Industrial Parks”, the long-established UNIDO Center for South-South Industrial Cooperation completed the comprehensive “Comparative Research Report on the Localized Performance Indicator Systems of the International Guidelines for Industrial Parks in China”.

This report's findings and suggestions can benefit China and offer potentially useful lessons for other developing countries.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The UN will continue to be a reliable partner to support and promote South-South Cooperation around the world. We are committed to assisting developing countries in tackling development challenges and jointly building a greener and sustainable future.

I wish you productive deliberations. Thank you.