Argentina: New Headquarters of Technical Unit of Ibero-American Programme for Strengthening South-South Cooperation

Argentina has been chosen as the Headquarters of the Technical Unit of the Ibero-American Programme for the Strengthening of South-South Cooperation (PIFCSS), for the 2018-2020 period. Our country, through the General Directorate for International Cooperation of the Foreign Ministry, will serve as Executive Secretariat of the Programme. The decision was unanimously adopted by the countries which adhere to the Programme, in the context of the Intergovernmental Technical Committee which met this Monday 3 July in the City of Madrid, Spain.

The PIFCSS is the top benchmark and the most developed programme of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB). Since its establishment in 2008, it has strengthened South-South and Triangular Cooperation through the work carried out on both a political and a technical level. Within its framework, Ibero-American countries have pursued different courses of action, such as:

•Education, training and structured exchange of experiences on South-South and Triangular Cooperation.

•Support in recording, analyzing, systematizing and generating knowledge on South-South and Triangular Cooperation.

•Continuous development of strategic methods, instruments and documents for Ibero-American South-South and Triangular Cooperation.

•Liaison and strategic dialogue with other actors and regions.

This model of cooperation, which has become a unique example on a global scale due to its development, horizontality and dynamism, has remarkably contributed to governance in the South-South and Triangular Cooperation region, and has become a major forum for discussion with various countries and global, regional and interregional fora on the subject of the architecture of international cooperation and development.

Acting as Executive Secretariat and functioning as Headquarters of the PIFCSS is a major step for Argentina, which allows us to position ourselves as a country with a strong leadership in terms of South-South Cooperation and partnerships for sustainable development.

In fact, South-South Cooperation is a strategic element of Argentina’s foreign policy. Our country has a long history of commitment to this kind of cooperation.  This year will be the 25^th anniversary of the establishment of the Argentine Fund for South-South and Triangular Cooperation (FO.AR), the main tool which enables the development and implementation of technical cooperation projects though exchange, adaptation and implementation of public policies on strategic areas.

“It is an honour for Argentina to host the Technical Unit of the Programme. This forum has become a benchmark for South-South Cooperation. Its importance and potential are even greater in the current international arena. We believe it is essential to use this platform to promote horizontal cooperation dialogue with other regions,” stated the Director General for International Cooperation, Ana Ciuti.

Since February 2015, the Executive Secretariat and the Headquarters of the PIFCSS have been located in El Salvador. The official handover to Argentina will take place in January 2018.

Press release No. 271/17

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