This week, on September 15th and 16th, the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the G-77 and China will be held at the Havana Convention Palace, under the theme "Current Development Challenges: Role of Science, Technology and Innovation", according to the invitation convened by the Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez.
The President of Zambia, His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema will be represented with a delegation chaired by the Hon. Felix C. Mutati, MP, Minister of Technology and Science. In total, more than a hundred international delegations are expected to come to Havana, with the participation of more than 30 Heads of State and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The G77 and China, which emerged in June 1964, is the largest and most diverse concertation group in the multilateral sphere, with 134 member states. All together represent 80% of the world population and more than two thirds of the membership of the United Nation.
Cuba assumed the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Group in January 2023, which was the first time that the Caribbean Island leads this negotiating block of developing countries. This year Cuba has also hosted important events related to the G-77 + China, including the meetings of the Group's Ministers of Education, Culture and Tourism in which the Republic of Zambia has also participated.
The Cuban president, in his call for the Summit, considered a paradox that "science, technology, and innovation were on the front line of response to the COVID-19 pandemic, while its benefits were unattainable for those most in need." Changing this scenario, he emphasized, that is requires the construction of a fairer relationship and a truly democratic and inclusive order, which favors international solidarity and cooperation.
The G-77+China Summit will be of great importance in the efforts to advance towards a unified South-South approach to the major challenges facing our nations in the international sphere. This event constitutes an opportunity to work together for the unity and determined action of the countries of the South, bound to face present and future challenges, because it is essential that conditions are generated to access and use technology and innovation and at the same time, chart paths in terms of political coordination in relation to South-South cooperation, North-South cooperation or related formulas.
This gathering will be a fundamental space for concertation in the perspective of the current Sustainable Development Goals Summit and the one`s to be held in the future. Achieving the historic demands of the G77 and China is a matter of survival of the human species and our nations. That`s why it is imperative, like never before, that the G77 and China remains a serious, energetic, solid and proactive interlocutor in defense of the rights of our people for the benefit of the present and future generations.
H.E. MRS. MARILEYDIS DUENAS MORALES
CUBAN AMBASSADOR TO ZAMBIA