The 39th executive committee meeting and 27th board meeting of Partners in Population and Development (PPD) on Sunday discussed different initiatives to strengthen South-South cooperation.
The meetings brought together ministers and partner country coordinators from 23 member countries in Dhaka, which hosts the secretariat of this decades-old intergovernmental organization.
“The primary focus of these meetings was to discuss the strategic direction of PPD, the ongoing and future initiatives in SSTC, and ways to strengthen cooperation among the member countries to address population and development challenges,” said a statement.
The meetings concluded with a reaffirmation of the commitment of the member countries to the principles of South-South and Triangular cooperation and a shared vision for the future of PPD.
The outcomes of these discussions will guide the organization’s efforts in promoting sustainable development and addressing population challenges across member countries.
PPD is preparing for the 21st International Inter-Ministerial Conference on South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Population and Development: ICPD 30.
The outcomes of Sunday’s meetings would play a critical role in shaping the outcome document of the conference and ensure the impact of South-South cooperation, the organization said.
Health Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen and PPD Board Secretary Prof Mohamed Douagi, among others, attended the meetings.
The idea of forming PPD owes its origin in the deliberations held in Bellagio, Italy, in October 1993, followed by another meeting in the same venue in April 1994, which concluded that “a number of developing countries have been remarkably successful in the design and implementation of national population policies and programmes. This represents a unique pool of practical experiences which can greatly assist other developing countries in their efforts to implement national strategies.”
It was realized in the meeting that sharing these experiences through South-South cooperation under an intergovernmental framework would immensely benefit the developing countries, which led to further consultations and the launching of PPD at ICPD in 1994 in Cairo.
