Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a time of profound global upheaval.

The COVID-19 pandemic is upending how we live, work, and cooperate.

For the first time since 1990, global human development is going backwards due to the impacts of the pandemic, with the poorest and most vulnerable being hit the hardest.

And the other multidimensional challenges before us appear daunting -- not least rising poverty, growing inequalities, and a climate crisis that is now “widespread, rapid, and intensifying”.

Global Cooperation

Since the virus first swept across borders and boundaries, the global community has rallied to mobilize resources to fight the pandemic -- how fast the world can act to respond to an imminent threat.

How countries and communities can, when faced with an unprecedented emergency, rally round; come together; and show solidarity with one another.

This has been the defining feature of South-South cooperation.

In the wake of the pandemic, 120 developing countries have been supporting each other in pivotal areas: from procuring and sharing life-saving medical supplies and sending health-workers to bridge gaps in capacity to mobilising vital finance and collaborating in science, technology, and innovation.

Indeed, South-South and Triangular Cooperation was an intrinsic part of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) response to the pandemic -- accounting for approximately 17% of our COVID-19 projects in 2020.

The Future

I see three key areas where we need to maintain this new-found momentum:

• Vaccine equity;
• Finance, debt, and the green economy;
• and the digital revolution:

and to use South-South and Triangular cooperation as a crucial vehicle to accelerate progress in these areas.

1. Vaccines

Firstly -- consider the fact that as of 8 September 2021 – just 2.65 per cent of people in low incomes have been vaccinated with at least one dose of the vaccine compared to 59.32 per cent of people in high-income countries.

This is amongst the eye-opening findings of the new Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity – an initiative of UNDP, the World Health Organization and Oxford University.

Rallying around the unifying strength of the United Nations, we need the “urgent cooperation of vaccine manufacturers, vaccine-producing countries, and countries that have already achieved high vaccination rates to tackle the acute vaccine supply shortage in low- and lower middle-income countries”.

Indeed, one estimate has found that wealthy countries will have about 1.2 billion extra doses this year -- enough to satisfy both their own needs and increase stocks available for low-and middle-income countries. Therefore, there is a clear need for more sharing of vaccines.

This global solidarity would add $38 billion to the GDP forecast for poorer countries in 2021 if they had similar vaccination rates to high-income countries.

Crucially, vaccine equity is the fastest way to end this pandemic.

And it will allow all developing countries to play a part in a global green recovery.

2. Finance, Debt + the Green Economy

Secondly, we know that advanced economies have outspent emerging and developing countries by a factor of 17 to 1 on green recovery measures.

The Global South is in danger of being left behind in the green recovery.

Part of the solution lies in the UN’s joined-up support.

UNDP has developed a green recovery framework with UNEP, UNCTAD, ILO and FAO, for example, to ensure that countries receive the very best of support from the system on the energy transition, on climate adaptation, and on nature-based solutions.

The UN is also helping over 70 countries to implement Integrated National Financing Frameworks to ensure that the financing for the recovery is aligned with sustainable development.

And look to UNDP’s Climate Promise. Implemented in 119 countries, it is the world’s largest offer of support for the enhancement of countries’ climate pledges. It is helping countries to transition to a low-carbon, green economy that will create new green jobs.

And through this support, countries are unlocking brand-new sources of private finance, which can be used to invest in clean, renewable energy, for instance -- a key aim of this month’s High-Level Dialogue on Energy.

UNDP’s flagship initiative, SDG Impact is laying out the “business case” for investors to align their activities with the SDGs. In 2020, Mexico became the first country in the world to issue an SDGs bond with this support.

There is a clear need for more sharing of knowledge on such groundbreaking solutions – an area where UNOSSC is ideally placed to lead.

3. Digital

Thirdly - we must sustain the unprecedented wave of digital innovation created in the wake of COVID-19 that will power the future of development.

Look to the work of the UNDP Accelerator Labs network -- the world's largest and fastest learning network on sustainable development challenges, now serving 115 countries.

Powered by the principle of South-South and Triangular cooperation, the labs supported over 1,700 local solutions in 2020 alone.

To give just one example of its contribution to South-South cooperation: the India Accelerator Lab rapidly developed an app aimed at tackling COVID-19 misinformation. So successful was the app – it was then adapted to the local contexts in Morocco, Cabo Verde, and Timor-Leste.

The UN will be helping to power the wider digital transformation – including through helping people to gain new digital skills. Indeed over 30 countries have already asked UNDP to support their national digital transformation.

And extending broadband access in Africa, Latin America, and south-east Asia could increase incomes by up to $600 per person a year.

Closing

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

UNDP is very proud to host and support the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation as the system-wide focal point on South-South cooperation.

UNDP’s brand-new Strategic Plan seeks to operationalize this strategy by strengthening connections between countries and applying their knowledge and experience to advance sustainable development.

Indeed, South-South and triangular cooperation is a proven and trusted platform to share and implement solutions. It is an approach perhaps now more important than ever to help developing countries to not only recover from the pandemic -- but to build forward better.

As we approach the opening of the 76^th session of the UN General Assembly next week, South-South Cooperation Day is an important opportunity to acknowledge and promote the critical role of the Global South: supporting countries & communities to make the right choices today that will define the wellbeing of people and planet -- for generations to come.

Thank you.