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Baku to host founding conference of Global South NGO Platform today

28 April 2025 09:01 (UTC +04:00)

Today, the founding conference of the Global South NGO Platform, which brings together influential NGO leaders and civil society representatives from 116 countries representing nearly 80% of the world’s population, will be held in Baku, APA reports.

This major event is considered a significant milestone in the life of civil society in the Global South, covering the regions of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania—two-thirds of the world’s countries.

The initiative to establish the Platform was put forward by the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum in November 2024, within the framework of COP29. The initiative quickly gained international resonance. As a result, the COP29 NGO Coalition raised the issue with the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum on institutionalizing this platform.

For the first time, an initiative by Azerbaijani NGOs has received such global support. Azerbaijan’s intense activity and important initiatives for a new and just world order during its chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as the achievement of the “Baku turn” during COP29, have earned the Azerbaijani state great respect in the Global South.

This event is regarded as a new beginning in the life of Azerbaijan's civil society.
The formation of the Global South NGO Platform in Baku is another manifestation of Azerbaijan’s role as a successful mediator and bridge between the Global North and Global South.

The Global South NGO Platform aims to provide strong support for bringing the problems faced by countries in this strategic geography to the international stage, to act with a unified stance in international organizations including the UN, and to conduct global coordination. It is a platform for joint efforts to fight against injustices faced by these countries—such as poverty, the consequences of climate change, colonial legacies, the digital divide, trade inequality, and other issues.

It also promotes South-South cooperation.

The founding conference of the Platform will take place today at the Baku Congress Center. During the two-day international conference titled “Solidarity in Action: Empowering Global South NGOs for a New and Just World,” representatives of leading NGOs from around the world will deliver speeches, global discussions will be held, and the significance of the historic “Bandung Principles” adopted 70 years ago in Indonesia will be emphasized.

These principles reject interference in the internal affairs of states, promote the creation of a peaceful and just world order, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, ensure the equality of peoples, and call for mobilization to strengthen mutual interest and cooperation, as well as economic prosperity.