The International Encounter “Innovation in South-South Cooperation” will take place from today in the department of Quindío, in the centre-west of Colombia, with the participation of delegations from Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.

According to a communiqué from the Chancellery, during the event the delegates will exchange knowledge and experiences about different and innovative perspectives related to development, focused on the shared strengths and challenges, with the goal of identifying common positions to influence global conversations.

Another of the purposes is to establish a roadmap to consolidate alliances that contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The meeting, which will have the city of Armenia as its headquarters, is organised by the Presidential Agency of International Cooperation (APC-Colombia), together with the Chancellery, with support from the University of Quindío.

According to the source, for the first time Colombia is leading a platform that unites the continents with the II Meeting of Emerging Development Partners.

The encounter also becomes a meeting within the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and a space for dialogue with the United Nations (UN) to promote a renewed model of sustainable, horizontal and solidarity-based international cooperation, which seeks to influence the main multilateral forums.

The Director General of APC-Colombia, Eleonora Betancur, explained that the forum is based on the exchange of knowledge and good practices in the search for financial resources for development.

“This will be a strategic space to dialogue about the priorities of the Global South and the role of South-South and Triangular Cooperation,” she revealed.

The agenda will be developed as part of the actions for the International Day of South-South Cooperation, which is commemorated every 12th September, a date established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2003.

The event includes international panels, knowledge exchange laboratories, high-level regional meetings, and brings together more than 30 participating countries and the notable presence of representatives from multilateral organisations, pointed out the Chancellery.

In them, proposals on development financing and its measurement, innovation strategies, care societies, decentralised collaboration, digitalisation and the use of Artificial Intelligence in international cooperation will be analysed.