September 12th is the United Nations Day for South South Cooperation. It has been 20 years since the establishment of the United Nations Day for South South Cooperation in 2004. The theme of this year's United Nations Day for South South Cooperation is "South South Cooperation for a Better Tomorrow". On September 12th, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United Nations held a high-level discussion on South South Cooperation Day to review the progress of South South cooperation, focus on opportunities, challenges, and development trends of South South cooperation. Experts and scholars from multiple countries believe that developing countries have made significant achievements in unity and mutual assistance, and South South cooperation has enormous potential, but also faces multiple challenges. The Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held this month shows that South South cooperation provides vitality for promoting the sustainable development of the "Global South". As the largest developing country and a natural member of the 'Global South', China is promoting common prosperity among countries in the 'Global South' through concrete cooperation plans and actions. Currently, progress in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is lagging behind, and countries in the "global South" face the arduous task of eliminating conflicts, promoting unity and progress, and revitalizing development. The United Nations Day for South South Cooperation reminds people that solidarity and mutual support will play a huge role in the pursuit of sustainable development by humanity. This is a strong cooperation mechanism that requires further cultivation, support, and funding Dima Hatib, Director of the United Nations Office for South South Cooperation, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency. At the high-level discussion held at the United Nations on the 12th, UN Secretary General Guterres delivered a video message stating that South South and trilateral cooperation are crucial for building a better future. Guterres also mentioned "promoting the establishment of a more equitable and inclusive global financial system," "digitalization, data, and science supported sustainable development solutions," and "improving the quality of life. In his speech, the President of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, Philemon Young, said that with joint efforts, countries in the "global South" have the ability and resources to take control of their own destiny and cooperate to address common challenges. On September 12th, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Philemon Young (center of the front row), the President of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, delivered a speech at the high-level discussion on the United Nations Day for South South Cooperation. In recent years, in order to coordinate and support South South and trilateral cooperation, the United Nations Office for South South Cooperation has launched the digital platform "South South Galaxy" to promote the experience and practices of promoting the achievement of sustainable development goals to countries. The platform also has laboratories for South South and tripartite cooperation solutions, dedicated to incubating and testing scalable collaborative solutions. As of now, the platform has 616 registered organizations and showcased 955 solutions, covering 193 countries. Only by uniting as one can countries fully utilize multilateral support and achieve common prosperity Guterres said. Experts and scholars from multiple countries believe that South South cooperation has opened up a path of equal trust, mutual benefit, solidarity, and mutual assistance for developing countries, promoting the continuous improvement of the international status of the "Global South". Selchuk Cholakolu, director of the Asia Pacific Research Center of Türkiye, said that in the face of the complex evolution of the international pattern, South South cooperation is conducive to the communication of policies and coordination of positions of relevant countries under the framework of the United Nations and other global multilateral mechanisms to reach consensus and unified action. Analysts point out that in history, the colonial and imperialist policies of Western countries have caused a huge gap in development between the North and the South. Today, with the intensification of geopolitical conflicts and the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, South South cooperation still faces severe challenges. Indonesian international relations scholar and director of the Saraswati Institute, Wei Zhenyu, said that although the traditional colonial system has long collapsed, Western countries have long pursued political and economic hegemony in order to maintain their dominant position, which has had a serious negative impact on South South cooperation. The West continues to create divisions among southern countries through pressure, coercion, and fabrication of lies, attempting to undermine South South cooperation and limit its development, "said Wei Zhenyu. Experts and scholars interviewed pointed out that Western countries have long held the power of international discourse, while Southern countries are still relatively marginalized in global governance. Developing countries urgently need to amplify the voice of the South through cooperation and promote the evolution of the international order towards a more just and reasonable direction. Scholars such as Jerome Kansimi, a member of the Uganda Council on Foreign Relations and advisor to the Prime Minister's Office, also believe that there is an imbalance in the development level, governance capacity, and technological innovation of southern countries. How to improve cooperation efficiency has become a problem that needs to be addressed at present. Surathi Thanatang, Director of the Thailand China Strategic Studies Center at the National Research Institute of Thailand, said that in order to address these challenges, the "Global South" needs to further innovate South South cooperation initiatives, make deeper commitments in areas such as shared responsibility, strengthening regional cooperation, and promoting sustainable development. China provides important support for South South cooperation. People from many countries pointed out that China has always been the backbone of promoting the development and revitalization of the "Global South", committed to building an important platform for international cooperation, promoting practical cooperation in various fields, and injecting surging momentum into the common prosperity of countries in the "Global South". On September 18, 2023, at the tomato production training course for the demonstration village of agricultural development and poverty reduction in Central Africa held in Nakuru County, Kenya, Chinese agricultural professor Liu Gaoqiong (second from left) guided Kenyan students on agricultural technology. Han Xu, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency, photographed that the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held earlier this month had yielded fruitful results and attracted the attention of all parties. The summit has launched a series of innovative and forward-looking measures that can effectively support the economic development of Africa, "said Liazid Benhami, Vice President of the France China Friendship Association in Paris, France." In particular, China and Africa jointly strengthen technological innovation and achievement transformation, which will help countries in the 'global South' seize the opportunities of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, enhance competitiveness, and integrate into a more dynamic and sustainable world economic system. "Dennis Munene, Executive Director of the China Africa Center at the Kenya Africa Policy Research Institute, believes that in recent years, China has promoted the continuous development of the BRICS cooperation mechanism and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, improved multilateral cooperation frameworks such as the Forum on China Africa Cooperation, the Forum on China Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Forum on China Arab Cooperation, proposed and promoted the implementation of global development initiatives, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative, etc, Provided important support for South South cooperation. In South South cooperation, China does not attach any political conditions and always sincerely helps developing countries enhance their independent development capabilities. China has provided development assistance to more than 160 countries, joined hands with more than 150 countries to build the "the Belt and Road", promoted cooperation in global development initiatives with more than 100 countries and international organizations such as the United Nations, created a global development and South South cooperation fund, and supported the implementation of more than 150 projects. Enkolo Foa, an African member of the International Advisory Committee of the China Africa Research Institute, said that China's cooperation with other developing countries does not attach any political conditions and does not interfere in each other's internal affairs, which is a model of South South cooperation. China is willing to share its development experience with countries in the South, which provides a guarantee for the sustainable development of the 'global South' The political news editor of the Jordan News Foundation, Amjad Azhar, said. Sulasi believes that, relying on the multilateral cooperation mechanism, China will continue to promote the "the Belt and Road" to jointly build national connectivity, improve the infrastructure of Asian, African and Latin American countries, promote the construction of logistics, trade and energy networks in developing countries, and enhance the momentum for regional development. In the view of Syrian political expert Maher Ihsan, China not only provides tangible support to other "global southern" countries, but also demonstrates a development path different from Western modernization. Munenei said that China has helped countries in the "global South" enhance their independent development capabilities and made positive contributions to promoting the process of world modernization. (New Society)