Triangular co-operation is an important form of co-operation that enables knowledge sharing, joint learning and capacity building based on the comparative advantages of the partners, the complementarity of actions and the leverage of financial resources. Triangular co-operation thus represents an important long-term investment, since it can have a multiplier effect, thereby complementing and adding value to bilateral co-operation actions.
Portugal sees triangular co-operation as a way of leveraging additional resources, sharing experiences and the added value of the various players for development. Portuguese co-operation conducts important technical co-operation with partner countries, which is often handled by partner institutions. It is therefore crucial to share knowledge and experiences that are mutually beneficial, thus increasing the impact of interventions.
Triangular co-operation also contributes to a greater rapprochement between the countries involved, with an impact that goes far beyond the development of the beneficiary countries. This collaboration becomes even more relevant in the context of the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and the response to major global challenges, which require a sharing of responsibilities and efforts, well beyond the traditional and already out-of-date North/South divide.
Portugal attaches great importance to the development of triangular co-operation projects, with the main beneficiaries being the priority countries of Portuguese co-operation, but also other areas. For this purpose, Camões, I.P. has signed Memoranda of Understanding with Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil for the development of triangular co-operation actions for development in third countries and has been in dialogue with institutions in other countries with a view to the initiation of actions of this nature.
Over the last few years, Portugal has taken a prominent role in promoting the international debate on triangular co-operation, which earned it the title of Champion in this field.
Camões, I.P. has hosted 4 international meetings on triangular co-operation in Lisbon so far. Together with the OECD it co-organised a technical meeting on this topic in September 2012 and a political dialogue meeting which took place in May 2013 with the participation of some 70 representatives from various countries and international organisations. More recently, on May 19, 2016, also in conjunction with the OECD, Camões, I.P. organised an International Meeting on Triangular Co-operation under the slogan "Promoting Partnerships for the Implementation of SDGs", which brought together representatives from various countries in Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania, and from which conclusions were presented to the II High Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation (Nairobi, November 2016). This meeting was preceded on 18 June by a "Strategic Session on Triangular Co-operation", co-organised with the Ibero-American Programme for Strengthening South-South Co-operation (PIFCSS) and Camões, I.P. The organisation of these two meetings on successive days (back-to-back) made it possible to bring together representatives of donor countries, pivotal countries and beneficiary countries, and to contribute to greater linkages and synergies between the work carried out in both frameworks (OECD- CAD and Ibero-American Co-Operation - PIFCSS).