Convened by Cuba, as Chairman of the Group of 77 and China, the Summit of Heads of State and Government will be held in Havana on September 15 and 16 to discuss the theme "Current Development Challenges: The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation".
In 1964, Third World countries decided to join together to promote common positions in the world economy. Since then, pressing problems were identified for the underdeveloped nations that demanded, as they still do, the right to economic and social development.
In the years that followed, other peoples achieved independence, and new members joined the Group of 77 and China, an Asian nation that joined in 1992.
However, more than five decades after its emergence, the concerns and constraints of this group not only persist, but have become more acute in the face of the current economic order, which has generated major conflicts and challenges.
We are living in times of a systemic crisis: economic, health, climate, energy, food, social.... And in the midst of all this, there persists an escalation in geopolitical tensions and the forms of hegemony of the most powerful countries throughout the planet.
For the nations of the South, as Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz warned at the First Summit of the Group held in Havana in April 2000, "gaps in development by region and unequal access to technology and knowledge" remain. Added to this are key issues such as the urgent structural reform of the international financial architecture and actions to address food insecurity on a global scale.
In a very complicated scenario for the world, Cuba assumed the pro tempore presidency of the Group of 77 and China in January this year, the first time that the largest of the Antilles leads this negotiating bloc of developing countries.
On that occasion, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, issued a message where he ratified his country's commitment to peace and the just struggle of the peoples, expressing that "It will always be the time for unity, but today it is an imperative, the greatest of all urgencies!".
"Count on Cuba and its unwavering commitment to work tirelessly, together with all the members of this indispensable grouping, in the defense of the supreme interests of our nations," the president assured.
And later in his speech he said: "Cuba is also counting on you and hopes that the spirit of unity and solidarity that gave birth to the Group of 77 plus China will prevail over the petty interests of those who seek to maintain the current unjust economic order immovable".
Experts consider that, after almost sixty years of existence, the Group of 77 and China has managed to remain united with multilateralism as the guiding principle of South-South cooperation strategies, despite the marked cultural, geographic, economic, social and political differences of its member nations.
Since 1971, the year that marked the date of its incorporation into this bloc of countries, Cuba has participated actively and its contributions in different areas for the promotion of such cooperation, as a way to contribute to equitable development among countries, are significant.
The concept of unity has been permanently defended, particularly during these months of Cuban presidency of the Group, with a constructive conduct of its work and actions, based on the broadest consensus and promoting complementarity.
In view of this reality, and with all the external and internal limitations that Cuba has, the largest Caribbean Island -as President of the Group of 77 and China- convened the Summit of Heads of State and Government under the theme "Current Development Challenges: The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation", to be held on September 15 and 16 in Havana.
In the face of contemporary challenges, as President Díaz-Canel stated in the call for the upcoming meeting: "Every minute counts in the search for solutions to the pressing problems of our peoples".
At the First Summit of the countries of the South, held in Cuba in 2000, at the beginning of a century of hope for humanity, the priorities and mechanisms of this group of nations were reactivated and updated. More than two decades later, the problems are greater and unity continues to be the watchword in these difficult times.
Definitely, in the Group of 77 and China, diversity cannot be weakness, but strength. And that, undoubtedly, is the premise that will be defended this weekend in the Cuban capital.
Key facts about the Group of 77 and China:
- The Group of 77 and China is the largest bloc of developing countries within the United Nations System. It is the most diverse consultative group in the multilateral sphere, with 134 member states representing two-thirds of the membership of the United Nations and 80% of the world's population.
- The Group was created on June 15, 1964, following the signing of the "Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Developing Countries", issued at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), held in Geneva. It was created with the aim of stimulating the economic interests of the founding countries and strengthening joint negotiating capacity within the UN.
- The Group of 77 and China currently comprises 134 States, following the entry of South Sudan in March 2015; but it maintains its original name for historical reasons. In the case of China -which joined in 1992- although it is considered an official member, it participates and collaborates externally.
- Cuba joined the Group in 1971. In January 2023, it assumed its pro tempore presidency for the first time.
- Since the first Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77, held in Algeria from 10 to 25 October 1967, at which the Algiers Charter was adopted, a permanent institutional structure has developed, leading to the creation of Chapters of the Group of 77 with liaison offices in Geneva (UNCTAD), Nairobi (UNEP), Paris (UNESCO), Rome (FAO/IFAD), Vienna (UNIDO), and the Group of 24 (G-24) in Washington, D.C. (IMF and World Bank).
- The Chairmanship, which is the highest political body within the organizational structure of the Group of 77 and China, rotates by region (between Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean) and is held for one year in all Chapters. The Chairman, who acts as its spokesperson, coordinates the Group's action in each Chapter.
- The South Summit is, according to the functional statutes of the mechanism, the supreme decision-making body of the Group of 77 and China, whose first Summit was held in Havana, April 10-14, 2000.