{"id":289213,"date":"2026-09-14T12:19:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T16:19:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/81\/documents\/speeches\/south-south-cooperation-day-11-september-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T12:37:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T16:37:53","slug":"south-south-cooperation-day-11-september-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/81\/documents\/speeches\/south-south-cooperation-day-11-september-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Speech at the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n
Documents<\/a>  \/  Speeches and Statements<\/a>  \/  United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation<\/div>\n
\n \"Eighty-first\n
\n
H.E. Dr. Khalilur Rahman<\/div>\n
President of the eighty-first session of the General Assembly<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n On this page<\/span>\n In his words<\/a>Full text<\/a>PDF<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n
\n Speech<\/span>\n As delivered<\/span>\n English<\/span>\n PDF · 5 pages<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Conference Room 1 · New York · 11 September 2026<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The President’s speech at the commemoration of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, convened by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation. It is reproduced in full below, as delivered, and is available as issued in PDF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Download the speech (PDF)<\/a>\n Read the full text<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

In His Words<\/h2>\n
\n

Passages quoted verbatim from the speech as delivered. The full text follows below.<\/p><\/div>\n\n

\n
“<\/div>\n
\n

Faced with extreme risks, countries of the South have not surrendered their agency or hope… they reach out a hand – and find another reaching back, across southern geographies, as a partner in shared resolve.<\/p>\n

H.E. Dr. Khalilur Rahman<\/p>\n

United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, 11 September 2026<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

“This is not simply a matter of increasing volumes. It reflects a deeper shift: countries of the South are becoming ever more important trading partners, investors and engines of global economic dynamism.”<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n

“They are also generating technological solutions that are practical, affordable and adapted to local realities—from digital public infrastructure and financial inclusion to climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy and disaster preparedness. These innovations hold immense potential to be shared, adapted and scaled across the global South.”<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n

“It reflects the reality that a growing number of countries of the South have moved from the periphery to the centre of global development. They are not only shaping their own futures; they are increasingly helping to shape global markets, production networks, innovation and the solutions required to meet our shared challenges.”<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n

“The question before us is: How best can we leverage this solidarity to restore trust and manage transformation to deliver for all, particularly now, as many of our Sustainable Development Goals are far off track, but not yet out of reach?”<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n

“I note that the Global Alliance for South-South and Triangular Cooperation, launched by the Office, stands as a lighthouse for what is possible when we choose partnership over division.”<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n

“Let us use our time wisely, on the road ahead, to show, in practical terms, how South-South and triangular cooperation is advancing the SDGs, through solutions that can be shared, adapted and scaled.”<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

All passages above are quoted from the speech as delivered, United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, New York, 11 September 2026.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

The Speech in Full<\/h2>\n
\n
Speech by the President of the eighty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly at the commemoration of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation. Conference Room 1, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 11 September 2026. As delivered.<\/div>\n
\n

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/p>\n

I thank you for your warm welcome and recounting my priorities during this year.<\/p>\n

It is a great pleasure on my part to join you in commemorating the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation.<\/p>\n

I myself sat in this meeting many times, both as a representative of my country and a senior staff member of the United Nations.<\/p>\n

We gather at a moment of profound transformation and change, as well as challenge.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, heightened geopolitical and geoeconomic competition is creating new barriers to trade, investment and regional integration that ultimately constrain growth and narrow opportunities for the world economy as a whole, but particularly developing countries.<\/p>\n

Yet, on the other hand, across the global South, a different and more hopeful story is unfolding.<\/p>\n

According to ±¬ÁÏÍøCTAD, “trade and investment flows among developing economies have surged over the past three decades.”<\/p>\n

The numbers speak for themselves:<\/p>\n

Brazil reported the largest single-year amount of monetized support: $159 million in 2022.<\/p>\n

Mexico followed, with $43 million disbursed in the same year.<\/p>\n

On average, 84 percent of monetized support remained within the region.<\/p>\n

This dynamism is also seen in the cultural and creative economy, where developing countries doubled their share of global creative goods exports, from 10 percent in 2010, to 20 percent in 2022.<\/p>\n

This is not simply a matter of increasing volumes. It reflects a deeper shift: countries of the South are becoming ever more important trading partners, investors and engines of global economic dynamism.<\/p>\n

It reflects the reality that a growing number of countries of the South have moved from the periphery to the centre of global development. They are not only shaping their own futures; they are increasingly helping to shape global markets, production networks, innovation and the solutions required to meet our shared challenges.<\/p>\n

They are also generating technological solutions that are practical, affordable and adapted to local realities—from digital public infrastructure and financial inclusion to climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy and disaster preparedness. These innovations hold immense potential to be shared, adapted and scaled across the global South.<\/p>\n

And as we face a rise in climate and disaster events, we see the real-world benefits of South-South cooperation first-hand.<\/p>\n