CIDCA chairman addresses Global South Sustainable Development Forum and 10th anniversary conference of ISSCAD

The Global South Sustainable Development Forum and the conference marking the 10th anniversary of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development (ISSCAD) took place at Peking University (PKU) in Beijing on April 29.

Chen Xiaodong, chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), attended and addressed the gathering.

Chen noted that China announced the decision to establish the ISSCAD at the conference marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations in 2015, and that the institute was officially established at the PKU in 2016. He emphasized that over the past 10 years, the CIDCA has provided strong support for the institute's development. He added that the CIDCA has supported it in launching master's and doctoral programs, as well as short-term exchange programs both in China and abroad, in order to expand the institute's influence, enhance communication among participants, share governance experience and enrich the connotation of South-South cooperation in the new era.

Chen underscored the role of the PKU in advancing the development of the institute. He noted that the institute has cultivated more than 500 master's and doctoral degree holders for over 80 countries, nearly 30 of whom are vice-ministerial officials. He added that many of them have become leaders in their countries' reform and development initiatives, advocates of South-South cooperation and practitioners of the friendship between China and their countries.

Chen said that unity, cooperation and inclusiveness are essential especially amid global turbulence, and that South-South cooperation is a great cause that aligns with current global trends. Noting that this year marks the fifth anniversary of the China-proposed Global Development Initiative and the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, Chen emphasized that China will be committed to advancing South-South cooperation, thereby providing development opportunities for other countries.

He also expressed the hope that the ISSCAD would adhere to its original aspiration to cultivate high-end professionals in the new era, explore diverse development paths via theoretical research, and enhance opening-up and cooperation to provide a platform for people-to-people exchanges among Global South countries.

Secretary of the Party Committee of the PKU He Guangcai; Assistant Minister of Commerce Zhang Li; Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of the Ministry of Education Yang Dan; Arkebe Oqubay, former Ethiopian senior minister; Zimbabwe's Ambassador to China Abigail Shoniwa; Justin Yifu Lin, honorary dean of the ISSCAD; and other attendees extended their congratulations on the 10th anniversary of the institute in their speeches.

They highly praised the institute's crucial role in strengthening research on international development cooperation theories and advancing the common development of Global South countries. In addition, they expressed the hope that the institute would contribute more to promoting South-South cooperation and building a community with a shared future for humanity.