India Launches UN-Supported Capacity Building Projects to Accelerate SDGs, Strengthen Global South Ties

In what is being viewed by experts and analysts as a significant push to deepen South-South cooperation and fast-track Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Government of India launched the first tranche of projects under the India UN Global Capacity Building Initiative on August 1, 2025. 

Image Source: India at UN

Spearheaded by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the initiative was formally unveiled in New Delhi by Secretary (West), Shri Tanmaya Lal, in the presence of the UN Resident Coordinator in India, Mr. Shombi Sharp, Heads of Missions of participating countries, senior UN agency representatives, and key MEA officials.

The initiative represents a strategic convergence between India’s decades-long development training legacy and multilateral cooperation frameworks. 

It builds upon India’s globally acclaimed Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, which has supported capacity building in over 160 countries since its inception. 

As of 2025, ITEC has delivered over 225,000 specialised training slots across 400+ niche domains. With over 12,000 slots offered annually, India continues to serve as a knowledge and development partner to the Global South.

The India UN Global Capacity Building Initiative, first announced in September 2023 by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar during the 78th United Nations General Assembly session, has evolved into a formalised cooperation mechanism. 

The MEA, in partnership with the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in India, jointly identified high-impact training projects aimed at achieving targeted SDG outcomes in multiple geographies.

Under the first phase, four projects were rolled out across Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean:

• Nepal: Rice Fortification and Supply Chain Management, supported by the World Food Programme (WFP).

• Zambia and Lao PDR: Deployment of Digital Health Platforms, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

• Belize, Barbados, St Kitts & Nevis, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago: Census Preparedness Training, supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

• South Sudan: Vocational Skills Development, supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

These pilot projects will be implemented through ITEC-recognised training institutes beginning September 2025, with specialised curricula developed to meet the developmental goals of host countries. \

Each project is designed to deliver scalable and localised capacity, reinforcing human capital development and governance capabilities in critical sectors ranging from public health to food security and demographic analytics.

Through this initiative, India and the United Nations are collaborating to build skills, to build futures aligned with the 2030 SDG Agenda. 

India’s efforts arrive at a crucial moment as many developing countries face persistent skill and institutional deficits, worsened by climate disruptions, public health challenges, and economic pressures. 

The MEA emphasised that all four projects are fully demand-driven, developed in close consultation with host governments and tailored to local development priorities.

The India UN Global South Capacity Building Initiative not only cements India’s position as a global development partner but also offers a scalable model for future triangular cooperation frameworks. 

With courses starting this September, and more nations likely to be added in the next tranche, this initiative signals India’s strategic leadership role in shaping a fairer, skill-ready, and SDG-aligned Global South.