Leaders of the G77+China group of developing and emerging countries, representing 80 percent of the world’s population, met in Havana on Friday and Saturday to discuss ways to promote a “new economic world order” amid growing global challenges.
The two-day summit, convened by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who holds the rotating presidency of the group, was attended by some 30 heads of state and government from Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Li Xi a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, from China.
The meeting aimed to address the current development challenges faced by the group’s members, such as poverty, inequality, climate change, health crises, digital divide and unilateral sanctions. It also sought to enhance the role of science, technology and innovation in achieving the 2030 UN development goals.
The G77+China group was established in 1964 by 77 countries of the global South to articulate and promote their collective economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity. Today it has 134 members and is the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries in the UN.