Date: Friday, 12 September 2025; 22nd Annual Day.
Sponsor: United Nations
Objectives:
United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation is annually celebrated for the following purposes:
- To highlight the importance of South-South cooperation in supporting low-income countries to achieve sustainable development goals.
- to recognize the United Nations’ efforts to work on technical cooperation among developing countries.
- to promote economic, social, and political developments in countries or regions in the southern sphere of Earth.
Inception:
The United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation was officially held for the first time on 19 December 2004.
History:
In 1974, the United Nations General Assembly established a particular unit within the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to promote and implement technical cooperation among developing countries (TCDC), with one regional service center in Asia and another in Africa. This Unit was renamed to the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) in 2013.
In 1978, a United Nations conference was held in Buenos Aires, resulting in the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA) for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries. It is one of the main pillars of South-South cooperation.
On 23 December 2003, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/58/220), declaring December 19 the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation.
On 9 November 2011, the General Assembly decided that “the observance of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation will be changed from 19 December to 12 September, to mark the day in 1978 when the United Nations Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries adopted the Buenos Aires Plan of Action.”
In 2016, one year after adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the General Assembly decided to convene a high-level United Nations conference on South-South cooperation on the fortieth anniversary of adopting the Buenos Aires Plan of Action.
Official website:
https://www.un.org/en/observances/south-south-cooperation-day
