GENEVA – The International Labour Organization (ILO) is proud to announce an ambitious suite of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) initiatives designed to address labor market challenges through practical cooperation and knowledge-sharing among countries of the Global South. By fostering direct partnerships between regions of the Global South, these projects will advance digitalization, formalization, integration, gender mainstreaming and the care economy while strengthening social protection systems across five key regions and at the global level. These initiatives mark a new wave of regional and inter-regional commitments toward structured, sustainable mechanisms that empower countries to build resilient and inclusive economies.
Strengthening digitalization and formalization in Lusophone Africa
In Africa, the project focuses on Lusophone countries (PALOP) to improve knowledge on digital solutions for formalization. Participating institutions will identify and adapt digital tools that help workers and enterprises transition to the formal economy, while strengthening their capacity to adapt digital governance solutions through hybrid peer-learning cycles. Within this framework, the ILO Luanda Office will be strengthened as a regional hub and a dedicated platform for Lusophone cooperation, establishing a community of practice to facilitate institutional dialogue.
South-4-Care for decent work in the care economy in Asia and the Pacific
In the Asia-Pacific region, the “South-4-Care” platform will operationalize cooperation to strengthen decent work in the care economy. The initiative aims to organize inter-regional exchanges to enhance collaboration and produce knowledge. This will facilitate policy exchange, joint learning, and adaptation of care economy models across countries in the region. The ‘South4Care’ initiative promotes regional cooperation on policies and services related to care work, employment, and social protection.
Advancing the care agenda and gender mainstreaming in Europe and Central Asia
In Europe and Central Asia, a new project establishes regular technical exchanges and a desk review of relevant ILO Conventions to integrate lessons learned directly into national policy processes. The project will ultimately support the region’s integration into the global South4Care platform to ensure the sustainability of women’s participation in the labor market. These sustained SSTC partnerships and institutional networks will enable continuous collaboration and the scaling of successful practices across the region.
A regional framework on economic recovery, return and inclusion in the Arab States
In the Arab States, the new project promotes regional tripartite dialogue to ensure decent work within a framework of economic recovery and inclusion, specifically addressing the challenges of return and reintegration. The project will refine a regional framework aligned with the Humanitarian–Development–Peace Nexus, ensuring a coherent approach to crisis response. Through structured peer exchanges, governments and social partners will identify common priorities and coordinated approaches to labor market inclusion across the region.
Modernizing Public Employment Services in the Americas
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the “Pode” platform will be consolidated as a regional dialogue platform to modernize Public Employment Services (PES). The intervention will increase institutional capacity for job intermediation, career guidance, and equitable hiring in various countries, linking these services to training and social protection. A dedicated SSTC regional platform will be established to produce practical manuals and a common monitoring and evaluation framework.
Strengthening BRICS platforms for digital and social protection
At the inter-regional level, the ILO has supported the BRICS troika presidency proposal involving Brazil, India, and China to institutionalize knowledge platforms for gender-responsive social security and digital transformation. By integrating ILO frameworks into the deliverables of the 2026 Indian and Chinese presidencies, the initiative will influence global policy on the digital economy and skills development. This engagement will include a continuous cycle of capacity development and peer learning supported by the BRICS Social Security Virtual Liaison Office.
Understanding South-South and Triangular Cooperation
South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) is a development paradigm driven by Southern partners and anchored in the principles of solidarity, non-conditionality, and mutual benefit to accelerate the 2030 Agenda. Within the ILO ecosystem, SSTC is envisioned as a “circle of equals”—a horizontal partnership where peers share similar social and economic contexts to find solutions with the same “DNA”. Through South-South exchange and triangular cooperation, countries adapt and scale solutions based on shared experience and complementary expertise, this peer-learning process generates functional blueprints that leverage the comparative advantages of all partners to enhance and scale innovative solutions globally.