Pakistan thanks China, G-77 members after election as chair

Islamabad: Pakistan has thanked Iron Brother China and the 134 members of G-77 after being elected as the chair of the ‘Group of 77 and China.’

The 45th Ministerial meeting of Group of 77 and China, held in a virtual format and it elected Pakistan as the next Chair of the Group. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi addressed the meeting and thanked China and the 134 members of G-77 for reposing their trust in Pakistan to lead the Group in 2022.

The Foreign Minister highlighted that the world is confronted with a triple crisis: the COVID pandemic and its consequences; the challenge of realizing the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development; and the existential threat of climate catastrophe – which has had a disproportionate impact on the developing countries.

The Foreign Minister added that an inclusive and equitable recovery from the current crisis would only be possible if the developing countries are provided with adequate means, especially financial resources, to return to the path of sustained and sustainable economic growth.

Qureshi emphasized that the developing countries needed to promote a “Common Development Agenda” to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

He underscored that, as the next Chair of the Group of 77 and China, Pakistan would work with the members of the Group to promote such a development agenda, including: debt restructuring, redistribution of the US $650 billion new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to developing countries; larger concessional financing, mobilization of the US $100 billion in annual climate finance by the developed countries; ending the billions in illicit financial flows from the developing countries and the return of their stolen assets; and the creation of an equitable and open trading system and a fair international tax regime.

The Group of 77, established in 1964, is the largest intergovernmental grouping of developing countries in the United Nations.

It provides the means for the countries of the Global South to articulate and promote their collective economic interests within the UN system.

Pakistan is a founding member of the Group and has had the distinct privilege to serve as its chair in New York on three occasions in the past.