Bangladesh announces a ‘South-South Knowledge and Innovation Centre’

Bangladesh has proposed establishment of a forum of ministers of the South and announced that it is setting up a ‘South-South Knowledge and Innovation Centre’.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen at a UN high-level meeting also underscored the importance of South-South Cooperation in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the foreign ministry said.

He delivered the ‘country statement’ at the plenary meeting of the Second UN High-Level Conference on South-South Cooperation in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires on Wednesday.

He said Bangladesh had highlighted the importance of South-South cooperation in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda even before its adoption.

Bangladesh has been elected as one of the vice presidents of the conference which will end on Mar 22.

Momen said the “South-South Knowledge and Innovation Centre”, as planned by Bangladesh would provide a platform “to co-create solutions” addressing challenges the developing countries face in advancing technology transformation.

With the centre, he said, developing countries will be able to share their innovative practices and identify experiences which could be “transferred, replicated and scaled up”.

On the sidelines, the foreign minister also attended an event titled “A Glimpse of the future South-South and Triangular Cooperation: Asia-Pacific’s contribution in Science, Technology and Innovation” at the University of Buenos Aires, jointly hosted by Bangladesh’s A2I and UN Office for South-South Cooperation.

He met President of General Assembly María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, Foreign Minister of Georgia David Zalkaliani and Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Guatemala Jairo D Estrada.