The founding conference of the Global South NGO Platform is currently taking place in Baku, bringing together influential leaders and representatives of civil society from 116 countries, representing about 80% of the world’s population. This large-scale forum covers regions of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania and is considered a major event for the civil society of the Global South.
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, addressed the participants of the founding conference. His message was read out by Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration.
It should be noted that the initiative to create the platform was launched by the National NGO Forum of Azerbaijan in the fall of 2024, within the framework of COP29. The initiative received wide international support, and as a result, the COP29 NGO Coalition entrusted the Azerbaijani Forum with the task of establishing the Platform. This marks the first time an initiative by Azerbaijani NGOs has received such broad global backing.
The creation of the Platform in Baku further reaffirms the country’s role as a bridge between the Global North and the Global South.
The Platform aims to promote a unified position on the international stage, including at the United Nations, to coordinate actions by Global South countries in the fight against poverty, the effects of climate change, digital inequality, trade injustice, and other challenges, as well as to foster cooperation among Southern nations.
The conference is being held at the Baku Congress Center and will last for two days. During the event, representatives of leading global NGOs will deliver speeches, global discussions will be held, and the relevance of the “Bandung Principles,” adopted 70 years ago in Indonesia to promote sovereignty, equality, and peaceful cooperation among nations, will be emphasized.
