Geneva Welcomes a New Voice for the Global South
The international ecosystem of Geneva—home to the United Nations and over 40 international organizations—has gained a significant new actor in 2025. The Global South Research Centre (GSRC) has released its first major report, offering a wide-ranging assessment of the achievements and challenges shaping the developing world today. For Geneva’s diplomatic community, this new center adds an important dimension to the ongoing global debate about development, cooperation, and the future of multilateralism.
A Vision Announced at the Highest Level
The idea of establishing a Global South research hub was first announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping on 28 June 2024, during the Conference Marking the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. He reiterated this commitment at the 19th G20 Summit later that year, emphasizing the need for a center “fit for purpose” to support Global South cooperation.
On 28 March 2025, this vision became reality. The GSRC—built by the Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC), with its secretariat at the Center for International Knowledge on Development (CIKD)—was officially inaugurated, with Geneva as one of its key international homes.
For a city whose DNA is deeply intertwined with diplomacy, development, and dialogue, the arrival of GSRC is both timely and natural.
A Platform for Global Dialogue
Designed as a truly international platform, the GSRC brings together experts from both the Global South and the Global North, as well as institutions from across the UN system. Its mission resonates strongly with Geneva’s long-standing commitment to inclusive multilateralism:
- promoting sustainable development,
- strengthening South–South cooperation,
- deepening knowledge sharing, and
- contributing to a “community with a shared future for humanity.”
The GSRC aims to consolidate research and experience from around the world and to provide intellectual support on the most pressing development questions of our time.
Global South Progress: A Transformation Underway
The center’s new report, Global South Development Achievements and Challenges, offers an optimistic yet nuanced assessment of the Global South’s evolution.
Since the early 2000s, the Global South has undergone dramatic economic and social transformation:
- GDP has multiplied by 5.4, with average growth of 5.1%—well above the global average.
- Trade, investment, and industrial capabilities have expanded at remarkable speed.
- Over one billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty.
- Life expectancy has risen from 62 to around 70.
- Higher education enrolment tripled, rising from 13% to 38%.
Today, Global South countries account for:
- 85% of the world’s population,
- around 40% of global GDP,
- nearly half of global manufacturing output, and
- the majority of global foreign direct investment inflows.
This is not a side story in global affairs—it is the story.
A Region of Successes, but Also of Stark Challenges
Yet the report is equally clear: significant challenges remain.
From a slowing global economy and rising climate risks, to weakened multilateral trading rules and pockets of political instability, the Global South faces a complex horizon. Development financing gaps, high borrowing costs, and continued inequalities in education and healthcare add to the pressures.
These realities mirror many of the themes that dominate the diplomatic circles of Geneva, from UNCTAD to UNDP, WHO, ILO, WIPO, and beyond.
Towards a New Form of Cooperation
Looking forward, the GSRC calls for a renewed spirit of partnership—between the South and the North, and among the countries of the Global South themselves.
Its recommendations include:
- deepening economic and trade cooperation,
- fostering technology transfer,
- strengthening autonomous development capacity, and
- expanding South–South and triangular cooperation.
For Geneva’s diplomatic community, these priorities provide a fresh avenue for engagement, analysis, and policy dialogue.
A Welcome Addition to Geneva’s Multilateral Landscape
With its inaugural report, the Global South Research Centre has firmly positioned itself as a valuable and thoughtful contributor to international debate. In a moment when the world faces profound uncertainty, the GSRC offers both a reminder of how far the Global South has come—and a roadmap for the work still ahead.
Its presence in Geneva reinforces the city’s role as a global hub for dialogue, development expertise, and multilateral cooperation.
MF
