Editor’s note: China on Sept 26 staged the High-level Video Conference on Poverty Eradication and South-South Cooperation in the lead-up to the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. It was held in collaboration with the UNDESA and the UNDP. Following is the Chair’s press release:

The High-level Video Conference on Poverty Eradication and South-South Cooperation was held by China in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and United Nations Development Programme on Sept 26 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.

The meeting was chaired by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi of the People’s Republic of China. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Under Secretary-General Liu Zhenmin and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner, Vice Prime Minister of Uzbekistan as well as foreign ministers or other ministerial representatives of Cambodia, Egypt, Guyana (Chair of the Group of 77), Kazakhstan (Chair of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries), the Laos, Myanmar, Niger, Peru, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, South Africa (Chair of the African Union), and Uganda (Presidency of the High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation) attended and addressed the meeting.

Under the overarching theme of “Towards A Shared Future for Developing Countries: Promoting Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development through Deepened South-South Cooperation”, the high-level attendees held in-depth discussions and reached broad consensus on the importance of strengthened solidarity and deepened South-South cooperation in fighting COVID-19 and meeting shared economic and social challenges facing developing countries to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) under the 2030 Agenda.

The meeting expressed concern over the negative impact of COVID-19 on human well-being and global socioeconomic development and stressed the need for all countries to remain united, put development first and act jointly.

The meeting called upon the international community to renew commitment to multilateralism, uphold the kernel role of the 2030 Agenda in international development cooperation, prioritize poverty eradication in all its forms, provide more help to developing countries, African countries, the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing states in particular, in overcoming the pandemic and implementing the 2030 agenda, and render more support for deepened South-South cooperation.

The meeting called for reinvigorated international development partnership, welcoming the Belt and Road Initiative and other regional and international cooperation initiatives which contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The meeting also called for a more open and inclusive development environment for developing countries, stressing the crucial importance, especially in face of the pandemic, of keeping the markets open and resolving disruptions to the global supply chains.

The high-level attendees emphasized the need to broaden and strengthen the voice and participation of developing countries in international economic governance, and allow developing countries greater participation in global value chains.

The meeting reiterated that South-South cooperation is a complement to, rather than a substitute for, North-South cooperation and urged developed countries to honor their unmet official development assistance commitments and scale up efforts to play a meaningful role in eradicating poverty.

The high-level attendees expressed their willingness to deepen South-South cooperation, both in such traditional fields and new domains including digital economy to accelerate economic structural transformation and upgrading, support the collective rise of the developing world and forge a community with a shared future of the South.

The meeting stressed the importance of supporting the leading role of the UN in coordinating global implementation of the 2030 Agenda and acknowledged the indispensable role of the G77 and China in promoting and advancing South-South cooperation for the shared interests of the developing world.

The high-level attendees encouraged the UN funds, programs, specialized agencies, UN regional commissions, including UN country teams to continue their good effort to mobilize more resources and provide more policy and technical support to developing countries.

The high-level attendees welcomed the Eradication of Extreme Poverty: China’s Practices report and Big Earth Data in Support of the Sustainable Development Goals report (2020) issued by China, and expressed appreciation for the good effort and insightful proposals made by the attending countries and UN agencies in promoting poverty eradication, South-South cooperation and attainment of SDGs.

The high-level attendees applauded the initiatives and measures announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the high-level events marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the UN, hailing these as another vivid demonstration of China’s commitment to multilateralism, its long-standing support for the UN and South-South cooperation, and its continued contributions to the 2030 Agenda and the common development of the developing world.

The meeting also lauded the initiatives and proposals put forward by other leaders on the occasion of UN’s 75th anniversary, which give a strong boost to multilateralism and international solidarity and cooperation in overcoming the pandemic, ending poverty and accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.