2021 High-level Forum of Directors General for Development Cooperation (DG Forum), 17-19 March 2021

By March 1, 2021 April 14th, 2021 Events, Webinars

  • When: 17, 18 and 19 March 2021 (see full programme for specific times)
  • Registration: to register for this event, please click here.

Between 17 and 19 March, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) are co-organizing the 12th edition of the High-level Forum of Directors General for Development Cooperation (DG Forum).

Background

The High-level Forum of Directors General for Development Cooperation (DG Forum) brings together leaders from cooperation agencies of national governments providing an opportunity for them to exchange views on South-South and triangular cooperation approaches and methodologies. The DG Forum also serves as a matchmaking platform for matching supply with demand and further strengthening partnerships. The Forum is a platform for South-South cooperation that offers an opportunity to make proposals for further mainstreaming South-South and triangular cooperation and is open to all interested actors involved in South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation.

The DG Forum was launched in 2008 as a workshop for practitioners of South-South and triangular cooperation, co-organized by UNOSSC and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). In 2018, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) joined as a co-organizer of the DG Forum.

The 2021 DG Forum

The upcoming 12th Edition of the High-level Forum of Directors General for Development Cooperation (DG Forum), bringing together the heads of development cooperation agencies and institutions and other partners, will be the first one to take place in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

It will provide an opportunity for the development cooperation practitioners to take stock of how South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation have performed since the start of the pandemic. Building on the outcomes of the DG Forum 2019, during which extensive discussions were held on the importance of stronger institutional arrangements — or national ecosystems for South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation – it will also provide an opportunity to assess progress towards implementing the BAPA+40 outcome document and exchange views on ways and approaches to strengthen South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation taking into consideration the new trends and opportunities as well as the evolving challenges that development cooperation may face in the medium-to-long term.
With this overall purpose in mind, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) are co-organizers of the 2021 DG Forum, this time virtually over Zoom due to travel restrictions, over a period of 3 days in March 2021.

The overall theme of 12th Edition of DG Forum will be “Trends, Opportunities and Challenges on the Path to Sustainable Development: Strengthening South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation in the COVID-19 Context”. The DG Forum is a space bringing together national implementing South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation agencies and institutions. Other South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation stakeholders and practitioners are also invited to the Forum.

Agenda

Overall Moderator: Mr. Tarik Iziraren, Deputy Director for Policy and Strategic Partnerships, United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)

Day One: 17 March 2021

1. Welcoming Remarks and Setting the Context

  • Dr. Adel Abdellatif, Director, a.i., United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
  • Mr. Naoki Ando, Director General, Operations Strategy Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
  • Mr. Riad Ragueb, Acting Director, Islamic Development Bank

2. Session 1: Taking Stock of Achievements for South–South and Triangular Cooperation Since BAPA+40: How Far Are We in Achieving the Goals Set in the Outcome Document?

  • Moderator: Ms. Anida Yupari Aguado, Economic Affairs Officer, Office of the Secretary General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Remarks from the host of BAPA+40 country: Mr. Juan Roccatagliata, Minister Counsellor, General Directorate of International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, Argentina
  • Ms. Anita Amorim, Head, Emerging and Special Partnerships Unit, International Labor Organization (ILO)
  • Ms. Ama Brandford-Arthur, Senior Partnership Officer (SSTC), Global Engagement, Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Division, External Relations Department, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
  • Interactive Session

3. Session 2: Trends, Opportunities and Challenges Posed by the COVID–19 Crisis for South–South and Triangular Cooperation

  • Moderator: Mr. Carlos Correa, Executive Director, South Centre
  • Ms. Yuko Suzuki Naab, Global Policy Adviser, Effective Development Cooperation, Effectiveness Group, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
  • Ms. Ana Fernandes, Head of the Foresight Outreach and Policy Reform Unit in the Development Cooperation Directorate, Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
  • Mr. Adnene Ben Haj Aissa, Executive Director, Partners in Population and Development (PPD)
  • Professor Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS)

4. Break–out Session for the Americas

  • Moderator: Mr. Enrique Oviedo, Political Affairs Officer, Commission Secretariat, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
  • Mrs. Angela Ospina de Nicholls, Director General, Colombian Presidential Agency for Cooperation (APC-Colombia)
  • Ms. Maria Elena Alcaraz, Coordinator of International Fora of Cooperation for Development, Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID), Mexico
  • Mr. Juan Roccatagliata, Minister Counsellor, General Directorate of International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, Argentina
  • Brazil
  • Interactive Session

Day two: 18 March 2021

1. Break–out Session for Asia

  • Moderator: Ms. Nozomi Iwama, Senior Director and Head of Office for Global Issues and Development Partnership, Operations Strategy Department, JICA
  • H.E. Mr. Akhilesh Mishra, Ambassador, Additional Secretary, Development Partnership Administration, Ministry of External Affairs, India
  • H.E. Mr. Teuku Faizasyah, Director-General for Information and Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indonesia
  • Mr. Tian Lin, Director-General, Department of International Cooperation, China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), China
  • Ms. Elenore Kang, Deputy Director of Asia Pacific Programmes, Technical Cooperation Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore
  • Ms. Wanphen Sreshthaputra, Programme Officer, Capacity Development and Partnerships Section, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
  • Interactive Session

2. Break–out Session for Africa, Middle East and Europe

  • Moderator: Mr. Ahmed Faruk Diken, Senior Technical Cooperation Coordinator, Regional Cooperation and Integration Department, IsDB
  • H.E. Mr. Mohamed Khalil, Ambassador, SecretaryGeneral, Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD), Egypt
  • H.E. Mr. Mohamed Methqal, Ambassador, Director General, Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), Morocco
  • H.E. Mr. Imad Zuhairi, Ambassador, Director General, Palestinian International Cooperation Agency
  • Dr. Rahman Nurdun, Vice President, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), Turkey
  • Ms. Aliya Agazadeh, Deputy Director of Agency for International Development Assistance, Republic of Azerbaijan
  • Mr. Helge Espe, Senior Adviser, Norwegian Agency for Exchange cooperation (Norec)
  • Ms. Sara Hamouda, SDGs and Agenda 2063 Expert, African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)
  • Interactive Session

Day three: 19 March 2021

1. Break–out Sessions Reports and Concluding Session: The Future of Development Cooperation: Insights on What to Expect in the Medium to Long– term and How SSTrC Should Be Positioned in the New “Decade of Action”

  • Moderator: Mr. Tarik Iziraren, Deputy Director for Policy and Strategic Partnerships, UNOSSC
  • All participants

2. Closing Remarks

  • Mr. Adel Abdellatif, Director, a.i., UNOSSC
  • Ms. Nozomi Iwama, Senior Director and Head of Office for Global Issues and Development Partnership, Operations Strategy Department, JICA
  • Mr. Riad Ragueb, Acting Director, IsDB

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