SEGIB participated in the commemoration of the International Day for South-South Cooperation

Various stakeholders gathered to recognize the contribution of this cooperation modality to Ibero-American countries’ development.

From September 10th to 12th, the Colombian Presidential Agency for International Cooperation (APC Colombia) organized the meeting Innovation in South-South Cooperation, in the city of Armenia, in order to identify innovative practices, challenges, and solutions for the daily management and implementation of South-South and Triangular Cooperation. This activity also aimed at adopting, scaling up, and replicating actions to strengthen these modalities’ processes and outcomes, so as to contribute to the development of the Global South.

The event brought together national and local authorities, multilateral organizations —such as SEGIB and the UN—, universities, and regional integration and coordination mechanisms such as ECLAC. Cooperation agencies from other countries of the Global South, such as the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and the Thai International Cooperation Agency (TICA), also had the opportunity to contribute to the debates.

According to APC-Colombia, key issues were addressed in these discussions: innovative financing, artificial intelligence, improvements on care societies, and the creation of strategic partnerships and opportunities for interregional cooperation to address shared challenges (structural inequalities, migration, and energy transition, among others) (APC Colombia, 2025).

SEGIB, together with APC Colombia’s Directorate for International Cooperation Provision, facilitated one of the co-labs (Unifying data: how to strengthen South-South and Triangular Cooperation registration systems), which identified —with an innovative approach— practices and actions that enable the strengthening of information systems by incorporating common standards, emerging technologies, and interoperability mechanisms that facilitate the systematization, analysis, and strategic use of data for decision-making and knowledge management.

It should also be noted that the first Intra-ECLAC meeting of international cooperation authorities —a strategic forum to promote the strengthening of regional cooperation management— was held in the framework of these activities. A report summarizing the challenges and strengths of South-South and Triangular Cooperation within ECLAC was prepared as a result of this event. This document will serve as a technical and diagnostic input for this mechanism, and will be used to make recommendations and design a roadmap to be used in subsequent work plans and for other meetings between ECLAC members or with external stakeholders (Concept Note, APC Colombia).

September 2025

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Source: SEGIB based on Agencies and Directorates-General for Cooperation.

Photos: Colombian Presidential Agency for International Cooperation, APC Colombia.