UNITED NATIONS (11 February 2002) - The Thirty-second Meeting of the Chairmen/Coordinators of the Chapters of the Group of 77 at various United Nations Centres will be held in Geneva from 14 to 15 February 2002 under the Chairmanship of Ambassador Milos Alcalay, Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the United Nations and Chairman/Coordinator of the Group of 77 in New York.

The Chapters meeting will focus on the preparations of the forthcoming UN major conferences and summits, namely, the International Conference on Financing for Development (Monterrey); the Second World Assembly on Ageing (Madrid); the Special Session of the General Assembly on Children (New York); the World Food Summit (Rome); and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg).

The meeting will also discuss the follow-up South Summit outcome which took place in Havana from 10 to 14 April 2002 and the implementation of the Programme of Work for the year 2002 under the Chairmanship of Venezuela.

The Chapters’ meeting is expected to adopt a communiqué on key issues to be addressed by the forthcoming UN major Conferences and Summits. It is also expected that this meeting will recommend to the Annual Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 proposals to further improve the working methods of the Group of 77 and bring about greater consolidation and effectiveness in the coordination among G-77 Chapters including proposals for the strengthening of the institutional capacity of the Group of 77 as decided by the South Summit.

As the largest intergovernmental grouping in the world, the Group of 77, which has played during three decades a cardinal role in international economic relations particularly calling for the establishment of a more equitable international economic order, has been also a major actor as prime initiator of initiatives within the framework of the United Nations with view to promoting international economic cooperation for development.

The Group of 77 was crated on 15 June 1964 when 77 developing countries adopted at the conclusion of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development a joint declaration. The evolution and history of the Group of 77 have been intimately linked with the United Nations system, demonstrating the dedication of developing countries to the goals and objectives of the Charter of the United Nations. To date 133 developing countries from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe are members of the Group of 77. The Group of 77 is based at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and has six Chapters located at UN centers in Geneva, Nairobi, Paris, Rome, Vienna and Washington, D.C.

The Chairmen/Coordinators of the Group of 77 Chapters for 2002 are:

New York: H.E. Ambassador Milos Alcalay (Venezuela)

Geneva: Mr. Mohamed Tawfik, Chargé d’Affaires (Egypt)

Nairobi: H.E. Ambassador German Garcia-Duran (Colombia)

Paris: H.E. Ambassador Hussein Ghubash (United Arab Emirates)

Rome: H.E. Ambassador Mohammad Saeed Nouri-Naeeni (Islamic Republic of Iran)

Vienna: H.E. Ambassador Victor Garcia III (Philippines)

Washington, DC: Mr. Adamu Ciroma, Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (G-24)

For more information, please contact:
Mr. Mourad Ahmia, Executive Secretary, Group of 77, New York.

Office of the Chairman of the Group of 77
Phone: (212)963-0192/3816
Fax: (212)963-3515/1753
Email: g77off@unmail.org
Website: www.g77.org

* * * * *