I am pleased to send greetings to all participants at this important side event. I congratulate India, Brazil and South Africa as well as their 10 partner countries in the IBSA Fund and others advancing this innovative, responsive and Southern-led success.

The IBSA Fund serves to help end poverty and hunger. This is the first Millennium Development Goal and will remain a priority in the post-2015 development agenda. I am heartened to by the many achievements of the IBSA Fund, including helping farmers in Guinea-Bissau, people living with AIDS in Burundi, fish-farmers in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and youth in the State of Palestine. I commend the Fund for empowering these and many other people across ten countries and four continents.  

The impact of the IBSA Fund goes far beyond the support it delivers on the ground. Spearheaded by three developing countries are themselves dealing with their own development challenges, the Fund embodies a spirit of solidarity and demonstrates the resolve of emerging economies to contribute to global development.

South-South Cooperation can provide novel and needed support through development assistance as well as increased South-South trade, investment, migration and capital flows, and knowledge transfer.  These efforts also serve to complement important North-South cooperation.

Looking to the post-2015 era, we need a robust global partnership which unlocks the potential of all forms of support. The spirit of mutual respect and solidarity that has characterized South-South Cooperation since its earliest days can help reinvigorate and inspire a new global partnership for our common future.