The historical ties between Portuguese-speaking countries began more than 500 years ago, and since then the Portuguese language has been the main common factor of identification among this group of nations, being used in unifying cultural vehicles such as literature, music, and even sports. In the work of Fernando Pessoa, one of the greatest poets of the Portuguese language and of universal literature, we can find a phrase that exemplifies the unifying character and belonging to a community: “My homeland is the Portuguese Language.” This “homeland” now has more than 250 million citizens who have inherited the language and can use it as a vector of comprehension, understanding, and solidarity.

South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) can help Portuguese-speaking countries advance integrated and coherent policies and actions. Through peer learning, policy dialogue and the exchange and adaptation of practices among countries facing comparable demographic, social and labour-market challenges, SSTC can strengthen the capacity of governments and employers’ and workers’ organizations to develop adequately financed, gender-responsive and rights-based systems grounded in international labour standards and social dialogue. It can also facilitate cooperation on skills development, professionalization, social protection, formalization and the creation of decent employment, while enabling approaches developed in the Global South to inform regional and global policy debates.