Global Majority
Wang Yi joins Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, The G77 groups more than 130 countries – the largest grouping of the global South, Uganda assumes chairmanship of the Group of 77 + China
UPDATE: Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Fortaleza, Brazil, with both sides speaking highly of the China-Brazil comprehensive strategic partnership.
The G77 groups more than 130 countries as members of the bloc – the largest grouping of the global South, representing 80 per cent of the planet’s population – and their solidarity and partnership are essential to building a sustainable, peaceful and just world for all, he said.
Uganda has assumed chairmanship of the Group of 77 + China from Cuba, which held the mantle for the past one year. The G-77+ China started as a group of 77 developing countries that came together and signed a joint declaration of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva in 1964, with a main aim of promoting economic cooperation among its member states and to collectively address issues related to development, trade, and international financial institutions.
China, Brazil strengthen strategic partnership
BRASILIA – Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Fortaleza, Brazil, with both sides speaking highly of the China-Brazil comprehensive strategic partnership.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, conveyed President Xi Jinping’s cordial greetings and expressed his appreciation for Brazil’s adherence to the one-China principle and for supporting China’s legitimate stance.
Wang said that China has firmly supported Brazil in accelerating its economic and social development, and firmly supported Brazil in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs.
China is willing to take the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries as an opportunity to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen high-level exchanges, deepen strategic communication, and open up new prospects for China-Brazil comprehensive strategic partnership, he noted.
Both sides should set the long-term goal of jointly building a China-Brazil community with a shared future, which will send a positive signal that China and Brazil are long-term and reliable strategic partners, he added.
Both sides should set the long-term goal of jointly building a China-Brazil community with a shared future, which will send a positive signal that China and Brazil are long-term and reliable strategic partners, he added.
Both sides should further strengthen unity, mutual trust and strategic coordination, and demonstrate the responsibility of major developing countries in regional and international affairs, added Wang.
For his part, Lula asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi, saying that he attaches great importance to mutual trust and friendship with President Xi, and looks forward to strengthening high-level exchanges between the two countries.
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Guterres urges G77 and China to drive momentum for global governance reform
Source: UN News
More than 130 countries are members of the bloc – the largest grouping of the global South, representing 80 per cent of the planet’s population – and their solidarity and partnership are essential to building a sustainable, peaceful and just world for all, he said.
“Let us face it: those that benefit most from the present global governance system are unlikely to lead its reform. So, momentum for change must come from you,” he told leaders. "I urge you to keep driving these efforts forward.”
Commitments still stand
The Secretary-General was in the Ugandan capital this weekend to participate in the summit and the latest meeting of another UN partner, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), held on Saturday.
He outlined many of the challenges facing the world today, including achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline as well as ensuring economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, respect for human rights and climate action.
“While South-South cooperation is strong and deepening, it does not replace the need for the respect of the commitments of the global North – for sustained engagement to reduce poverty and inequality, support growth and build resilience in developing countries,” he said.
Furthermore, peace “is breaking down amidst a climate of global impunity”, with wars in Sudan, Ukraine, the Middle East and beyond. These conflicts are devastating lives, fuelling mass displacement, disrupting global supply chains and threatening to set entire regions alight.
Middle East ‘tinderbox’
Highlighting the conflict in Gaza, the Secretary-General warned that “the Middle East is a tinderbox” and called for action to prevent a spillover across the region. He again stressed the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, access for humanitarian aid and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
“The repeated refusal yesterday to accept the two-State solution for Israelis and Palestinians is totally unacceptable, as I told the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement,” he said.
“The denial of the right to statehood for the Palestinian people would indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to global peace and security, exacerbate polarization and embolden extremists everywhere.”
Outdated international system
Although righting our troubled world requires effective global action, Mr. Guterres said "the current international system is out of date, out of time and out of step" as it was established when many G77 countries were still colonized.
He called for reform of the UN Security Council, saying it is paralyzed by geopolitical divisions while its composition does not reflect the reality of today’s world. The Council is comprised of 15 members, and five – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – have the right to veto any resolution.
Similarly, the global financial system established after the Second World War, which "failed to provide a global safety net for developing countries in distress", must also be reformed to be more inclusive.
Hope lies ahead
“Yet, amidst all this gloom, there is hope,” Mr. Guterres said, pointing to the SDG Summit last year and its strong political declaration and the Summit of the Futurethis September, which provides an opportunity to build on that success.
“It is a chance to create the conditions for countries to achieve the SDGs, to find consensus on frameworks to address new challenges and to build a better world for us all,” he said, noting that the summit will also consider deep reforms of the international financial architecture.
Calling for the G77 to unite against the climate catastrophe, Mr. Guterres urged members “to hold developed countries to account for climate justice and for leading an equitable and just transition based on the phaseout of fossil fuel and massive investment in renewable energy”.
Financial commitments made by richer countries also must be met, and clarification on the $100 billion promised annually for climate action as well as doubling adaptation finance by 2025 are mere starting points.
While the Loss and Damage Fund marks a step forward, “we must call for meaningful contributions that have not yet been announced,” Mr. Guterres said.
As new technologies can turbocharge progress toward the SDGs, he expressed hope that the proposed UN Digital Compact will be adopted at the Summit of the Future.
He added that a newly created expert body has made preliminary recommendations on global artificial intelligence (AI) governance, including for accelerating sustainable development.
Another advisory board is working to ensure scientific breakthroughs are shared equally for the benefit of all people.
Seize the opportunity: Assembly President
The President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, also delivered remarks at the Summit.
“Now, more than ever, the G77 and all nations must come together and build bridges of dialogue, hope and cooperation to create a more fair, more just and more prosperous world for all,” he said.
Warning that the international community is “quite literally at a fork in the road", he urged countries to “seize the opportunity of summits such as this, to rededicate ourselves to our core values – principles that remain as relevant and compelling today as they ever were”.
Echoing the Secretary-General's message, he upheld the need for urgent reform of multilateral organisations, including the UN and international financial institutions, “to better recognise and leverage the significance of the Global South”.
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Uganda assumes chair of G77 + China
Uganda has assumed chairmanship of the Group of 77 + China from Cuba, which held the mantle for the past one year. The G-77+ China started as a group of 77 developing countries that came together and signed a joint declaration of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva in 1964, with a main aim of promoting economic cooperation among its member states and to collectively address issues related to development, trade, and international financial institutions.
These, who have since grown to 134 members, have from 1994 received both political and financial support from China- who does not consider herself a Group member.
During the official start of the 3rd South Summit in Kampala on Sunday, Uganda’s President Museveni rallied global countries to embrace unity in order to solve the ongoing global crises.
“We should ensure that we collectively promote and protect human rights and development and the issues of human rights should be handled objectively and not politicized,” Museveni told delegates in his inaugural remarks as the Group’s new leader.
“People are also living under foreign occupation, and we call for the international community to provide assistance and enable developing countries to address their challenges politically and financially,” he added.
International financial institutions, he said, should provide financial assistance to developing countries, without putting stringent conditions, if the latter are to also develop.
Speaking at the event, the Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres advised global south countries to demand their rights and negotiate their clear position from the rich global north countries.
“Financial institutions and frameworks created after the Second World War still largely correspond to the power relations and the global economy of that time. They must be reformed so that they are truly universal; reflect the realities of today; and are much more responsive to the needs of developing countries,” he said.
Further, he said: “Multilateral development banks must be adequately capitalized, and must change their business models to leverage far more private finance for developing countries at reasonable cost,”
According to the UN chief, many G-77 members are grappling with an economic hangover from the Covid-19 pandemic, crippling debts, a cost-of-living crisis and sky-high borrowing costs.
“Climate disasters many of you did little to create are knocking chunks out of your economies and increasing people’s suffering.”
“Digital technologies have enormous potential for good – but they are also inflaming inequalities. The International Monetary Fund warns that artificial intelligence could make things even worse. And peace – the foundation of sustainable development – is breaking down amidst a climate of global impunity. Around the world – from Sudan, to Ukraine, the Middle East and beyond – wars are devastating lives, fuelling mass movements of people, disrupting global supply chains, and threatening to set entire regions alight,” he added.
‘Irreparable trauma and loss’
In his speech, the president of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Dennis Francis said that escalating geopolitical tensions, wars and conflicts have risen to the fore, shattering the lives of millions, and putting the safety and security of the entire planet at risk.
“At the forefront of these, is the harrowing humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. Generations of families suffering irreparable trauma and loss; children undergoing amputations without anesthesia; entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble in one fell swoop. With half the population facing starvation and tens of thousands of dead in just over 100 days, the world is looking to the United Nations for answers,” he said.
Read more here.