Dubai, UAE, October 20, 2016:  Heads of State and Government, Ministers, Business Leaders and Experts Will Spotlight Southern-Grown Solutions and Cooperation Opportunities Toward Attaining the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The Zayed International Foundation for the Environment signed the agreement with the UN Office for South-South Cooperation last April, launching the eighth annual Global South-South Development Expo to be hosted by the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment on behalf of the UAE Government from 31 October - 3 November 2016.

The Global South-South Development Expo will be organized by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) in conjunction with more than 20 UN agencies and partners. Focusing on the theme “South-South Cooperation: Towards innovation and roadmap for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, Expo 2016 will strategically engage all development actors, including the private sector and civil society, to scale up concrete Southern-grown initiatives to help achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The GSSD Expo is a one-of-a-kind platform for showcasing and scaling up development initiatives while leveraging the complementary strengths of all institutional partners in addressing global and regional challenges.

Since its launch in 2008 the GSSD Expo has showcased 500+ Southern solutions, hosted 4,500+ development experts and practitioners, connected 150 countries, mobilized $15 million+ in partner financing, launched 15 South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives, and encouraged 30 UN partners to Deliver as One.

The GSSD Expo 2016 is a strategic opportunity for countries, businesses and organizations alike.

The media are invited and encouraged to attend all Expo events.

The success of the Expo will be contingent upon open and full collaboration involving all the key partners. To effectively build on this broad global partnership, the eight thematic areas of GSSD Expo 2016 address Sustainable Development with particular focus on: (1) Poverty Eradication; (2) Food Security; (3) Public Private Partnerships; (4) Green Technology Transfer; (5) Economic growth; (6) Industrial Innovation; (7) Green Economies; and (8) Global Health.