HIBAPRESS
Omar Hilale, the Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations, affirmed on Wednesday in Santa Marta, Colombia, that Morocco's strategy in the field of South-South cooperation, launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, constitutes "an embodiment of steadfast solidarity" with the countries of the Global South.
In a speech during the opening of the expanded meeting of the United Nations High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation, which Morocco chairs, Mr. Hilale reiterated the Kingdom's strong and permanent commitment to South-South and triangular cooperation, which he described as a fundamental component of royal diplomacy. He said that "Morocco has always defended a South-South cooperation strategy that is action-oriented and based on solidarity, especially with its African brothers, and with the countries of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, in particular, through the effective work of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation." The ambassador stressed the centrality of South-South and triangular cooperation, four years before the deadline for achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in light of a global context characterized by geopolitical tensions, increasing climate risks, and a decline in public aid for development. In addressing the structural transformations witnessed by the global economy, Mr. Hilale pointed out that trade exchanges between the countries of the South now represent more than a third of world trade, and that they are growing at a faster pace than exchanges between the countries of the North and the South. He also highlighted the continuous rise in investments, development finance flows, and the exchange of knowledge, technologies, and public solutions between the countries of the South, in vital sectors such as climate action, digital transformation, agriculture, and public health, which enhances the leadership of the countries of the South and their ownership of their development paths. This meeting, which is being held over three days, at the invitation of the Presidential Agency for Cooperation in Colombia, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, and the United Nations Development Programme in this Latin American country, represents an important opportunity to enhance the role of South-South and triangular cooperation within the global development structure. This meeting brings together representatives from various regional groups affiliated with the United Nations, the private sector, multilateral development banks, as well as cooperation agencies affiliated with a number of Latin American countries. The work of this conference will focus, in particular, on the Global Alliance project for South-South and triangular cooperation, under the supervision of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, which constitutes an important step towards enhancing international coordination. This alliance aims to mobilize partnerships, knowledge, and resources more effectively between member states, UN agencies, development banks, and regional organizations, while taking into account the priorities and needs expressed by the countries concerned.
