The 3rd South Summit will involve the G-77 and China (G-77/China) to promote South-South cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, sustainable development, climate change, poverty eradication and the digital economy. 135 countries came together. . Members stressed that “reforms to the international financial architecture should better reflect the needs and priorities of developing countries and include durable and fair solutions to the debt crisis.”
The United Nations' largest coalition of developing countries convened in Kampala, Uganda, on 21-22 January 2024 to articulate and advance collective interests and strengthen collective bargaining capacity in the United Nations system. The summit was held under the theme of “leaving no one behind.”
In the Third Southern Summit Outcome Document, Member States reaffirmed that “there can be no sustainable development without peace, and there can be no peace without sustainable development,'' and “justice in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.'' and seeking a peaceful resolution. Leaders agreed that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the New Urban Agenda (NUA), and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) “should be implemented in 2030.” We reiterate that this is the case. All of them…in line with the principles of multilateralism and international cooperation. ”
Underscoring the universality of the 2030 Agenda, Member States reaffirm that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is “the greatest global challenge and an essential requirement for sustainable development.” . In this regard, the two countries “stress the importance of appropriate implementation tools…and call on developed countries to commit to a new phase of international cooperation through a strengthened and scaled-up global partnership for development.” ”.
The leaders emphasized the need to strengthen the role of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in addressing international financial structural reform, and called on multilateral development banks (MDBs) to “Meet the country's financial needs.” Countries including low-income and middle-income countries [(LMICs)], through concessional loans and grants. ” Calls for expanding debt swaps for the SDGs, including debt swaps for climate and nature, among other solutions.
In his remarks at the summit, UN Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledged that the global financial system “is failing to provide a global safety net for struggling developing countries.” He said the Future Summit in September will “consider fundamental reforms to the international financial structure,” including:
- The SDG stimulus package provides US$500 billion annually in affordable, long-term financing for sustainable development and climate action in developing countries.
- Adequate capital for MDBs and new business models that leverage much more private finance for developing countries at reasonable costs.and
- Expanding emergency financing to countries in need through special drawing rights (SDR) rechanneling.
The Secretary-General said providing $100 billion a year in climate finance and doubling adaptation finance by 2025 is “just a starting point” and called for implementation of existing financial commitments. He urged “meaningful contributions” to the Loss and Damage Fund and urged the G-77/China to set “ambitious new financial targets for the future” at the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29). encouraged to advocate.
Addressing the summit, UNGA President Dennis Francis echoed the Secretary-General's message, calling for multilateral institutions, including the United Nations and the international financial institutions, to “urge urgent reforms to better recognize and leverage the importance of the Global South.” He asked them to “work on it.” “We will stimulate and strengthen our full commitment to multilateralism, foster investment in line with the SDGs, and break the cycle of compounding debt and interest in developing countries. “We need an international financial system,” he said.
The 3rd Southern Summit was held in succession to the 19th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit. The first Southern Summit was held in Havana, Cuba in 2000, and the second Southern Summit was held in Doha, Qatar in 2005. [Third South Summit] [UN News Story]
