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With conscionable a 3rd of the soil near successful the hourglass to execute the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, urgency defines our times. Nowhere is this much evident than successful the improvement of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC), recognised each twelvemonth by the United Nations connected September 12 arsenic the UN Day for South-South and Triangular Cooperation. This day besides marks the day of the 1978 Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA), which laid the instauration for method practice among processing nations. More than a model for assistance flows, BAPA enshrined principles of solidarity, communal respect, and shared learning. Over the decades, these principles person go cornerstones of South-South cooperation, much applicable present arsenic the planetary bid has shifted and request for caller concern models has intensified.
SSTC has emerged arsenic a captious complement to accepted assistance successful a satellite grappling with geopolitical conflicts, clime change, and widening inequalities. With cost-effectiveness, replicability, and contextual relevance, SSTC offers amended returns connected investment, peculiarly arsenic backing for humanitarian and improvement sectors declines.
India’s relation and philosophy
India’s improvement travel embodies the doctrine of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — the satellite is 1 family. India is uniquely positioned to champion SSTC, arsenic a starring dependable for sovereignty, inclusion and communal respect; arsenic a federation with 1 of the world’s largest nutrient information nets and 1 which transitioned to a food-surplus economy.
India’s contributions are wide-ranging: hosting the Voice of the Global South Summits; starring efforts during its G-20 presidency to unafraid imperishable rank for the African Union; establishing the Development Partnership Administration successful the Foreign Ministry; and the impactful Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme, which built capableness successful much than 160 countries. India launched the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, promoted its integer nationalist infrastructure models specified arsenic Aadhaar and UPI globally, and continues to fortify collaboration done respective plurilateral platforms.
Equally important, India has go a hub of innovation — processing tailored, cost-effective and locally due solutions crossed integer transformation, clime resilience, wellness systems and sustainable financing.
In this context, India’s productive concern with the World Food Programme (WFP), a UN agency, is simply a shining illustration of a associated improvement of innovations and solutions that unlock nationalist concern and standard champion practices crossed India. Over six decades, India was a investigating crushed for WFP initiatives with planetary relevance, deploying integer tools, improving nutrient organisation and advancing climate-resilient farming champion practices. India and the WFP worked unneurotic to aviator notable Indian innovations specified arsenic the Annapurti oregon Grain ATM, optimisation of the nationalist proviso concatenation wrong the nutrient nationalist organisation system, the women-led Take-Home Ration programme, and the nationalist atom fortification project. These initiatives, which improved nutrient information domestically, besides supply replicable models for different processing nations.
Redefining partnerships
The complexity of today’s challenges demands diversified partnerships. Triangular cooperation, linking processing countries with accepted and emerging donors, amplifies bully practices, unlocks resources, and fosters spot and communal accountability. Equally, partnerships indispensable widen beyond governments to civilian society, the backstage sector, and grassroots communities. Such collaboration creates much holistic, sustainable, and people-centred improvement models.
SSTC besides provides a amended instrumentality connected investment, being frugal and replicable crossed akin contexts. This is simply a captious imperative successful presumption of the simplification successful backing for humanitarian and improvement sectors.
Over the past 3 decades, 47 governments person contributed to the UN Fund for South-South Cooperation, supporting initiatives that person reached much than 70 countries and benefited radical successful 155 nations. Since its constitution successful 2017, the India-UN Development Partnership Fund has financed implicit 75 transformative, demand-driven projects crossed 56 processing countries, peculiarly successful Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.
In 2024, the WFP mobilised implicit $10.9 cardinal from Global South countries and the backstage assemblage to enactment SSTC projects aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger. Recent India-WFP initiatives specified arsenic the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals excavation funds for atom fortification and proviso concatenation optimisation successful Nepal, and a UN India Development Fund task successful the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, show a shared committedness to translating commitments into action.
The taxable for UN Day for South-South Cooperation 2025 — “New Opportunities and Innovation done SSTC” — captures the situation earlier us. Real advancement requires beardown institutions, capable financing and the courageousness to innovate. It besides means investing successful knowledge-sharing platforms, expanding entree to finance, and strengthening accountability and learning mechanisms. India is cementing its enactment by enhancing determination and planetary practice successful nutrient security, nutrition, and resilience.
A caller tone of partnership
The satellite needs a renewed tone of concern - 1 that values contributions from each countries, fosters equality, and prizes innovation. SSTC is much than a diplomatic phrase. It is simply a instrumentality for transformation, a lifeline for billions, and a pathway to a much equitable and sustainable future.
Vani Rao is India’s Ambassador to Italy. Elisabeth Faure is Country Director, World Food Programme successful India
