“We must build greater confidence in our region to increase South-South and Triangular Cooperation”, said the Permanent Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), Ambassador Clarems Endara, during the opening of the ”XXXII Meeting of Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean: Strengthening capacities for measuring, assessing and evaluating South-South and Triangular Cooperation (CSSyT)”, organized jointly with the Government of the Republic of Peru, through the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru and the support of the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF) of the Group of 77, in the city of Lima.

During the opening ceremony, the Permanent Secretary of SELA said that “mutual trust facilitates the creation of strategic alliances and the establishment of joint projects that can be more effective due to the shared understanding of local challenges”. He also said that SELA “continues its efforts to highlight the importance of international cooperation”.

Ambassador Endara emphasized that South-South and Triangular cooperation is a “source of collaboration among developing countries,” mainly in the Southern Hemisphere, with the objective of sharing knowledge, experiences and resources to address common challenges.

“We are convinced that cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean strengthens our sense of integration and convergence towards a more resilient and cooperative region, in order to improve the quality of life of our more than 670 million inhabitants in the region,” concluded the Permanent Secretary of SELA in his speech.

During the opening ceremony, the Director General for Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru, Ambassador María Eugenia Echevarría, acknowledged the willingness to strengthen regional convergence and promote resilient and inclusive development.

The Director General also valued SELA’s efforts to adapt the Work Programme to the “priority needs of the Member States”, especially in key areas such as Economic Recovery, Digitalization and Social Development. “We support SELA’s leadership in building a more integrated and supportive region,” Ambassador Echevarría added.

At the meeting, Noela Pantoja, Executive Director (e) of the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI), emphasized that the contribution of cooperation to the development of “our beloved region must be made viable, and of course, its beneficial results must be shared with our citizens”.

He also pointed out that “although the current scenario presents challenges, international cooperation requires the active and committed participation of all actors (…) only through collaboration and strategic partnership can we achieve sustainable results that tangibly improve the quality of life of our citizens”.

This edition of the meeting, which will be held until November 28, focuses on strengthening capacities for the development and application of methodologies that allow to know the valorization of the CSSyT, and to contribute to the promotion of instruments, mechanisms and procedures that are available from each of the countries and specialized organizations for the measurement, valorization and evaluation of cooperation and how they are aligned with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and National Development Programs. Likewise, the space will be conducive to promoting the creation of funds for SSST and implementing programs with greater efficiency and flexibility, according to the demands of the countries.

For more than three decades, SELA has organized this meeting to promote and sponsor the meeting to debate, exchange and consolidate proposals that contribute to the integration and exchange processes and, above all, to intra-regional as well as inter-regional cooperation. Assuming this space as a platform to encourage the exchange of ideas, experiences and good practices in the thematic areas of relevance in the agenda of cooperation and development aid.

The “XXXII Meeting of Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean: Strengthening capacities for the measurement, assessment and evaluation of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (CSSyT)” is part of SELA’s Work Program 2022 – 2026, specifically in the Sustainable and Resilient Development program, focused on developing, managing and disseminating knowledge necessary for the implementation of inclusive social development policies, in order to achieve greater cooperation in the implementation of the circular economy and develop capacities of the regional public sector in areas of high social impact, ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care and social welfare.