On 27 June 2018, H.E. Mr. Vijavat Isarabhakdi, Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, delivered a welcoming address at the Regional Consultation on South-South Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific: Towards the Buenos Aires Plan of Action 40th Anniversary, alongside Mr. Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary for Sustainable Development, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and Mr. Jorge Chediek, Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation, and Director of United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), at the United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok. 

 

               H.E. Mr. Isarabhakdi emphasized (1) the uniqueness of South-South Cooperation (SSC), which manifests its core basis of solidarity among developing countries including respect for national ownership and independence, non-interference, and mutual respect, and the intention of developing countries to help each other, which together make SSC an important complementary instrument to traditional North-South cooperation; (2) the significance of SSC for Asia and the Pacific region including its role in fostering regional and sub-regional cooperation, which has resulted in the increased volume of South-South engagements in the area of trade and financial flows, transfer of technology, and also human resources development and capacity building; and particularly (3) the strong commitment of Thailand to vigorously continue the global partnerships within South-South and triangular Cooperation in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, of which Thailand’s effort lies the ‘SEP for SDGs partnership’ initiative aimed at sharing Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) as a homegrown approach to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

 

                The Regional Consultation was held between 27-29 June 2018 and also included an inaugural Asia-Pacific Forum for South-South and Triangular Cooperation chaired by Mrs. Suphatra Srimaitreephithak, Director-General of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA). 

 

                 Both conferences were jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, UNOSSC and ESCAP, as part of the global preparatory processes, leading to the Second High-Level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (BAPA+40), to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, between 20-22 March 2019, with an aim to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action. The conferences also reviewed the South-South and Triangular Cooperation trends, challenges and opportunities in the region, and partcipants shared their relevant experiences and lessons learned.

 

                 The meetings were attended by Member States of ESCAP as well as representatives from think tanks, civil society organizations and the private sector.