Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventy-seventh session at UN headquarters in New York Sept. 21, 2022. (Photo by: UN Photo/Cia Pak)
By Gary Raynaldo – DIPLOMATIC TIMES
UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – Cuba on Thursday assumes the pro tempore Presidency of the Group of 77 + China, which is a coalition of 134 developing countries, designed to create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. Pakistan hands over the chair of the Group of 77 to Cuba. It is the first time that Cuba holds this responsibility since the Group was established nearly 60 years ago. As such, Cuba said it intends to foster international cooperation for post-covid pandemic recovery, promote common interest, foster an open and transparent multilateral trading system and advocate for universal access to health care and medication. The G-77 is the largest multilateral group currently comprising 134 developing countries in addition to China. Founded by the Non-Aligned Movement in 1964, the group represents 75 percent of the UN membership and 80 percent the world’s population.
Cuba was elected to chair G-77 for 2023 by consensus of foreign ministers meeting on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly last September. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla called the decision to elect Cuba preside over the G-77 a “high honor” at the time. The foreign minister maintained that unity is vital and strategic in the context of a multidimensional crisis and will be a pillar that Cuba will preserve during its pro tempore presidency in 2023.
“Endorsement of Cuba’s election is more than a recognition of our country, it is an enormous responsibility, since the G77 and China is the broadest and most diverse cooperation group in the multilateral sphere”
-Cuba Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla
Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, during a virtual ceremony at UN headquarters in New York in which Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, the United Nations Secretary Antonio Guterres, UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi, and Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari were present Jan, 12, 2023. (UN Photo)
“I would like to reiterate my gratitude for the support & confidence placed in Cuba to conduct the works of the G-77 & China during the year 2023. It will be a year of formidable challenges and complex processes that will demand a determined action from the countries of the South. From G-77 & China chairmanship we’ll promote the use of science, technology & innovation as engines of sustainable development”
-Cuba Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla
Thursday’s handover of the presidency took place during a virtual ceremony in which Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, the United Nations Secretary Antonio Guterres, UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi, and Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari were present.
The G-77 currently has chapters in Geneva, Rome (FAO), Vienna (Unido), Paris (Unesco), Nairobi (Unep) and the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The first G-77 major meeting was in Algiers in 1967, where the Charter of Algiers was adopted and the basis for permanent institutional structures was begun under the leadership of Raul Prebisch who had previously worked at United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLA). The G-77 group was credited with a common stance against apartheid and for supporting global disarmament. It has been supportive of the New International Economic Order.
