Need SSC for 2030 agenda: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has underscored the importance of South-South Cooperation (SSC) in the implementation of the 2030 agenda in developing countries.
“I may recall here that Bangladesh highlighted the importance of SSC in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda even before its adoption in the ‘High-Level Meeting on South-South and Triangular Cooperation in the post Development Agenda: Financing for Development in the South and Technology Transfer’ that it hosted in Dhaka in May 2015”.
The minister said this while delivering country statement at the plenary meeting of the Second UN High-Level Conference on South-South Cooperation in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday.
In his country statement, the foreign Minister shared some thoughts and plans of Bangladesh to promote SSC including proposal to establish a forum of development, finance, economic and foreign ministers of the South to discuss, dialogue, and explore the potentials as well as the critical issues of the South in the context of achieving the SDGs.
He also announced that Bangladesh is planning to set up a “South-South Knowledge and Innovation Centre” which would provide a platform to it and other countries to co-create solutions addressing challenges they face in advancing technology transformation, particularly emanating from 4IR, share their innovative practices and identify experiences which could be transferred, replicated and scaled up.
Mentioning that the Diaspora of the South, which possesses wealth of knowledge and experience, is expanding across the globe, the FM stressed upon that SSC should provide them a platform to work closely in their countries of origin and play a more meaningful role in their development.
Recognizing SSC as an effective cooperation mechanism in the development trajectory of Bangladesh, the Foreign Minister said, “Under the leadership of our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we are now implementing our national development Vision 2021 to see ourselves as a middle-income country and Vision 2041 to transform the country into a ‘Sonar Bangla”, a developed one.