SECOND
SOUTH SUMMIT
OF THE GROUP OF 77
HOLDS MINISTERIAL MEETING
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Foreign
Ministers conclude review of the draft Doha
Declaration
and Plan of Action; stress importance of South-South
cooperation and the strengthening of the United
Nations in the field of development
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Doha,
13 June 2005 – The review of the Doha
Declaration and Plan of Action was at the centre of
the Ministerial Meeting held today in the context of
the Second South Summit of the Group of 77. The
meeting was inaugurated yesterday at the senior
officials level. Both documents are to be adopted by
the Heads of State and Government during their
Meeting, be held from 15-16 June 2005.
Following an address by the First Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
State of Qatar, His Excellency Mr. Hamad Bin Jassim
Bin Jaber Al-Thani and of the Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs of Jamaica, His Excellency Mr.
Delano Franklin, in his capacity as Chairman of the
group of 77, the Ministers held an interactive
dialogue centering on the issues of South-South
cooperation and the implementation of the outcome of
the First South Summit; and the strengthening of the
United Nations in the field of development with
special reference to the proposed outcome document
for the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General
Assembly of the United Nations.
The
Foreign Ministers of the Group of 77 outlined the
importance of South-South cooperation as a tool for
developing and strengthening the economic
independence of developing countries and achieving
development as one of the means of ensuring the
equitable and effective participation of developing
countries in the merging global economy. In this
context, South-South cooperation is not being
considered as a substitute but rather a complement
to North-South cooperation.
The
Group of 77 decided in Havana in 2000 on an
ambitious programme to expand South-South
cooperation. The delegations pointed out that the
vast potential of such cooperation remains largely
untapped. The lack of effective arrangements was
identified as one constraint.
Speaking about the proposed reform of the United
Nations, the Foreign Ministers of the Group of 77
stressed the importance for developing countries
today that these efforts result in genuine
strengthening and revitalization of the United
Nations. For this to happen, it is essential that
development remains the priority and at the centre
of the Organization's work. In general, developing
countries must support genuine multilateralism and
democratization of global governance. In this
context, the reform of the United Nations should
also be extended to the Bretton Woods institutions
and the World Trade Organization (WTO) which have a
vital impact on development and on international
economic relations.
The
Second South Summit will open at the level of Heads
of State and Government on Thursday 15 June with a
general debate on the development challenges facing
the South, with special reference to the upcoming 60
th Session of the General Assembly. |
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Doha, 12 June
2005---
The Second South
Summit of the Group of 77 opened its first working session
this morning at the Doha Sheraton Hotel at the
level of senior officials and in presence of His Excellency
Ambassador Stafford Neil, Chairman of the Group of 77 and
Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations,
Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, Permanent
Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations,
and Mr. Mourad Ahmia, Executive Secretary of the Group of
77.
In
his opening remarks to the senior officials of the 132
Member States of the Group of 77, Ambassador Stafford Neil,
in his capacity as Chairman of the Group of 77, referred to
the meeting as an "opportunity for the Group to demonstrate
unity and solidarity in its pursuit to advance the
collective will of its membership”. In the context of the
reform proposal of the United Nations, Ambassador Neil added
that "as we prepare for the 60 th session of the General
Assembly and the impending consultations on the outcome
document of the President of the General Assembly, we have
to be firm, bold and clear in our articulation of the views
and concerns of developing countries”. He stressed that the
Group of 77 and China “must ensure that advancing the
development agenda remains at the forefront of the reform
and activities to be undertaken. While in Doha, we must
avail ourselves of the opportunity to advance this objective
and to ensure that the G-77 is fully equipped to take on the
challenges of the very critical year”, he concluded.
Welcoming delegations to Doha, the Permanent Representative
of the State of Qatar to the United Nations and former
Chairman of the Group of 77 and China, Ambassador Nassir
Abulaziz Al-Nasser, outlined “the need to establish a real
global development agenda in which the Millennium
Development Goals and the related role of the United Nations
are given considerable significance”, in the perspective of
the Millennium Summit, to be held in September, in New York.
Ambassador Al-Nasser stressed the need to make “South-South
cooperation the real instrument for our development, while
recognizing that it cannot be a substitute for the
North-South negotiations. With this understanding, we need
to enhance the role of the South-South cooperation while
seeking to improve our position in the international
community”, he added.
Delegations convened in working groups to finalize the draft
Doha Declaration and Programme of Action, to be submitted to
the review of the Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign
Affairs scheduled tomorrow, Monday 13 June, before their
final adoption by the Summit of Heads of State and
Government, scheduled from 14-16 June 2005.
The Group of 77 was established in 1964 by seventy-seven
developing countries signatories of the “Joint Declaration
of the Seventy-Seven Countries” issued at the end of the
first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva. Beginning with the first
Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 in Algiers in 1967
which adopted the Charter of Algiers, a permanent
institutional structure gradually developed which led to the
creation of Chapters of the Group of 77 in Rome (FAO);
Vienna (UNIDO); Paris (UNESCO); Nairobi (UNEP); and the
Group of 24 in Washington, DC (IMF and the World Bank).
Although the membership of the G-77 has increased to 132
countries, the original name was retained because of its
historical significance.
As
the largest coalition of developing countries in the United
Nations, the Group of 77 provides the means for the South to
articulate and promote its collective economic interests and
enhance its joint negotiating capacity on all major
international economic issues in the United Nations system,
including South-South cooperation. |