U.N. high‑level committee urges scaled‑up financing and stronger institutions for South‑South cooperation

The 22nd session of the United Nations High‑Level Committee on South‑South Cooperation opened with calls from member states and U.N. officials for stepped‑up financing, deeper institutional backing for the U.N. Office for South‑South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and wider use of triangular cooperation to address development shortfalls.

Omar Hilal, Morocco’s permanent representative to the United Nations and president of the session, opened the proceedings by thanking U.N. leadership and participants and by underscoring the committee’s priorities for the coming two years. He welcomed the presence and support of the United Nations Development Programme and highlighted the session as an opportunity to translate commitments into “concrete results.”

The nut of the discussion centered on financing gaps and operational capacity. Achim Steiner, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), told delegates that official development assistance (ODA) was shrinking and that new approaches were required, but added that “we do not align ourselves with the view that ODA is dying or is dead.” Steiner cited several figures discussed in the session’s reports: a roughly 7% decline in ODA in 2024, South‑South trade valued at about $5.6 trillion in 2023, remittances to…