Kathmandu, Apr. 12: The South Summit opened today at the Palacio de Convenciones, Havana under the Chairmanship of President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria. The focus of the Summit is on the broad themes of Globalisation, Knowledge and Technology, South-South cooperation, and North-South relations, according to the UNDP statement. An interactive high-level dialogue would also take place on the role of the United Nations in the 21st century. UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan is scheduled to address the Summit this week.
The Chairman of the Group of 77, Chief Arthur Mbanefo of Nigeria, described the event – the first ever Summit of the Group of 77 – as “a unique opportunity to renew the South’s commitment to international cooperation and development and an occasion for developing countries to galvanize their strength and solidarity into a truly energetic force capable of conditioning the international economic order in which the Group of 77 must operate.”
The Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mark Malloch Brown said that UNDP is strongly committed to further strengthening its support to programme countries and to building on its strong partnership with the Group of 77. Brown noted that UNDP had a strong history of cooperation with the G-77 that dated from its establishment in 1964, and regarded itself as the development agency of the developing countries. He said UNDP was in the process of reforms aimed at further strengthening its services to programme countries.
More than 120 countries and 60 Heads of State and Government, are expected to attend the four-day meeting. The Summit of Heads of State and Government will take place from 12-14 April.
The Group of 77 is the largest coalition of developing countries within the United Nations, providing its members with an important platform for the discussion of economic and social issues. It currently comprises 133 developing countries from Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Nigeria is the presiding country for the Group for 2000.