Mr. President, dear colleague,
Excellencies and distinguished delegates,

I have the honour of addressing this session of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation in my capacity as Chair of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission.

I wish first of all to congratulate you, Mr. President, Ambassador Hilale, the Permanent Representative of Morocco, as well as the Vice-Presidents—Ms. Eleonora Betancur Gonzalez of Colombia, Mr. Duarte Valente of Portugal, and Ms. Jelena Plakalović of Serbia—for your election to the Bureau. I trust that under your stewardship this session of the High-level Committee will be productive and successful. I take the opportunity also to commend the previous Bureau—Sri Lanka, Burundi, Italy, the Russian Federation, and Barbados—for your efforts on the critically important subject of South-South and Triangular Cooperation.

Excellencies,

The Peacebuilding Commission has a long-standing record of promoting South-South cooperation and Triangular cooperation. This is borne out of the recognition that there are clear benefits to peer learning and the exchange of experiences between countries that face similar peacebuilding challenges.

The foundational principles of South-South and Triangular Cooperation also mirror the bedrock principles by which the PBC operates, recognising the importance of national ownership and sharing of good practices.

South-South and Triangular Cooperation has an important role to play in building and sustaining peace, through bilateral, regional, and multilateral cooperation. This can range from knowledge sharing, to technical assistance and to the contribution of in-kind and financial resources, on matters as diverse as security sector reform, judicial capacity-building, infrastructure development, capacity and institution building, and public services delivery, among many others. Through these efforts, South-South and Triangular Cooperation foster institution-building rooted in national ownership, a fundamental pillar of sustainable peace. The PBC with its unique bridging role among the principle organs and relevant entities can make an important contribution to these efforts by convening a wide range of actors and providing a platform to develop and share good practices on nationally owned efforts for peacebuilding and sustaining peace, including preventing relapse into conflict.

The Commission works to offer Member States a collaborative platform in which they can showcase their efforts, share their challenges, and seek to mobilise political and financial support and strive to mobilize resources for their nationally owned peacebuilding priorities—through various means, including North-South, South-South, and Triangular modalities of cooperation. That is why this year again, the PBC has inscribed the promotion of South-South and Triangular Cooperation for peacebuilding in its annual programme of work. Member States on the Peacebuilding Commission also actively promote sustainable peace and development individually, through their own bilateral, regional and multilateral engagements.

Excellencies,

Earlier this month, the PBC convened at the Expert level to further reflect on the role of South-South and Triangular Cooperation for building and sustaining peace. The discussions were rich and reaffirmed the Commission’s collective commitment to strengthening the pursuit of peace and development through South-South and Triangular Cooperation, including through closer cooperation with this High-level Committee.

As you deliberate over your outcome Decision, we hope that it will affirm the importance of South-South and Triangular Cooperation for building and sustaining peace.

I conclude by thanking you again for your attention, and I express the PBC’s full support for your efforts. I equally thank the UN Office for South-South Cooperation for their valuable facilitation of inter-agency progress.

I thank you.