HLPF 2025 Side-Event: Launch of the UNOSSC Global Report 2025, 17 July 2025

June 23, 2025

Join us for the launch of the 2025 UNOSSC Global Report: Bridging Horizons and Continents: Forging Transformative Pathways in South-South and Triangular Cooperation.

📅 Date: 17 July 2025; 8:45 – 10:00 (EDT)
📍 Venue: DOHA Conference Room, 11th Floor, UNOSSC, 304 East 45th Street, New York
🌐 Format: Hybrid Event
📝 Register here

Introduction:

In an era marked by polycrisis and systemic uncertainty, South-South and triangular cooperation has emerged as a vital enabler and accelerator of progress on the 2030 Agenda and other internationally agreed development goals.

The 2025 Global Report – “Bridging Horizons and Continents: Forging Transformative Pathways in South-South and Triangular Cooperation”, commissioned independently by the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, through a comprehensive and structured process of research and wide consultations with a myriad of stakeholders, is being launched at a critical juncture marked by a global polycrisis—climate change, geopolitical fragmentation, digital divides, and post-pandemic recovery. The report provides a forward-looking, evidence-based analysis of how South-South and triangular cooperation can be repositioned as a transformative modality for sustainable development and the strengthening of multilateralism.

More specifically, the report explores how South-South and triangular cooperation can:

Address systemic vulnerabilities and inequalities exacerbated by multidimensional poverty and vulnerability, climate change, debt distress, and digital exclusion.
Foster inclusive innovation, regional integration, and resilient development pathways.
Build robust platforms for knowledge sharing, financing, and experience exchange.
Amplify the collective voice of the Global South in global governance.

Framed through a foresight lens, the report anticipates future disruptions and opportunities and identifies actionable strategies to reposition South-South and triangular cooperation as a transformative force in global development. It also offers actionable recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and development partners to strengthen South-South and triangular cooperation as a strategic enabler of the SDGs and a cornerstone of a more equitable global landscape.

Unveiling insights and opportunities: What to expect at the event:

The event will reflect on the key conclusions and recommendations of the Report and chart a global and regional discourse on the future of South-South and triangular cooperation and greater integration of South-South and triangular cooperation into national and regional development strategies.

The event will also examine how to move beyond isolated interventions toward integrated portfolios of cooperation that are inclusive, adaptable, and future-ready, through South-South and triangular cooperation. The discussion will also highlight the catalytic role of triangular cooperation and partnerships, peer learning, and locally driven innovation in building trust and advancing inter- and intra-regional solidarity.

This event will also call for greater political support and investment in South-South and triangular cooperation as a strategic vehicle to co-create the future of cooperation and unlock transformative pathways toward the SDGs. In this context, the event will explore broader partnerships opportunities for regional, sub-regional and thematic dialogues on the key messages.

About the Lead Author:

Dr. Adel M. Abdellatif is a distinguished international development expert with over four decades of experience spanning diplomacy, multilateral organizations, and strategic advisory roles. He most recently served as Director a.i. of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), where he led the development of the first UN System-Wide Strategy on South-South Cooperation. Previously, as Deputy Director and Senior Strategic Advisor at UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Arab States, he coordinated operations across 16 country offices, oversaw the flagship Arab Human Development Report series (2007-2020), and launched key regional initiatives covering governance, climate resilience, and women’s empowerment. Before joining UNDP in 1998, he served two decades in Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, achieving the rank of Ambassador. Dr. Abdellatif holds a Ph.D. in Political Economy from The Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva and currently serves on Egypt’s Advisory Board on Human Development, while continuing his work as a senior consultant on international development cooperation.

Who is expected to attend?

Policymakers and government representatives
UN agencies and multilateral organizations
Development practitioners and experts
Civil society organizations and youth networks
Academia and think tanks
Private sector and philanthropic actors

What’s in it for the participants?

The event will bring together up to 100 participants from various sectors to discuss key insights and recommendations from the report.

Policymakers and government representatives from the Global South, in particular, will gain valuable strategies for integrating South-South and triangular cooperation into national policies and decision-making processes.
UN agencies and multilateral organizations can discuss key policy recommendations and explore new partnership opportunities, including at the regional and sub-regional levels.
Development practitioners and experts can share innovative solutions for resilient development pathways.
Civil society organizations and youth networks can engage and discuss recommendations and insights related to youth.
Academia and think and do- tanks can learn from the report and contribute to foresight analysis and future challenges.
Private sector and philanthropic actors can, through deliberations, identify investment opportunities to support transformative pathways toward the SDGs.

Agenda:

Time	Session	Speakers
08:30 – 08:45AM	Refreshments
Moderator: Zanofer Ismalebbe, Chief, Knowledge Management, UNOSSC
08:45AM – 09:05AM	Opening Remarks	Ms. Dima Al-Khatib, Director, United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation H.E. Omar Hilale, President of the UN High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation and the Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations, New York H.E. Dr. Abbas Kadhom Obaid, Chair of G77 and China and Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations H.E. Lok Bahadur Thapa, Vice-President of ECOSOC and the Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations, New York
09:05AM – 09:25AM	Presentation of the 2025 Global Report	Mr. Adel Abdellatif, Lead Author
09:25AM – 09:30AM	Q&A – In-person and online participants
09:30AM – 09:55AM	High-level Panel Discussion	H.E. Mathu Joyini, Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations, New York Mr. Navid Hanif – UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Professor Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India (Member of the Advisory Board for the Global Report) Dr. Carlos María Correa, Executive Director of the South Cente Dr. Laura Trajber Waisbich, Deputy Director of Programs at the Brazil-based Igarape Institute (Member of the Advisory Board for the Global Report)
09:55AM – 10:00AM	Q&A – In-person and online participants
10:00AM – 10:05AM	Closing remarks	Ms. Dima Al-Khatib, Director, UNOSSC