Havana - The Group of the G77+China's Summit begins on Friday in Havana, Cuba, with a focus on combating poverty in developing countries.
At the event, taking place until Saturday under the theme "Current Development Challenges: Role of Science, Technology and Innovation", Angola will be represented by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, who responds to an invitation made by his Cuban counterpart, Miguel Díaz Canel, last August.
Cuba chairs, for the first time, the G77 group that brings together developing countries and 134 member countries of the United Nations (UN).
The Presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Argentina, Alberto Fernández, announced that they will be present at the meeting, as well as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres.
The heads of State of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, of Iraq, Abdelatif Rashid, of Palestine, Mahmud Abás, of Burundi, Évariste Ndayishimiye, and of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, are other personalities that have confirmed their presences.
Among the confirmed presences there are also those of the Presidents of Bolivia, Luis Arce, of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremasinghe, of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, of Laos, Thongloun Sisoulith, of Equatorial Guinea, Obiang Nguema, and the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves.
In this regard, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has announced that he will ask Southern countries to adopt reforms for good governance, mobilize resources and guarantee the Sustainable Development Goals as a priority in international policies.
As part of the debates, issues linked to energy, infrastructure, equality, justice, inclusive growth, food, education and health will also be on the table.
Havana ready for the Summit
The streets of Havana are decorated to welcome leaders and representatives of the member states of the bloc, which represents 80 percent of the world's population and more than two-thirds of the members of the United Nations.
On the Convention Palace's facilities, the Hotel Palco, the Pabexpo fairground, the El Palenque restaurant and the Cubanacán Hall (El Laguito) organizational actions are carried out to welcome participants, according to the Cuban News Agency.
The group was founded on June 15, 1964 by the “Joint Declaration of the 77 Countries”, issued at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and its first meeting took place in Algiers (Algeria), in 1967, upon adoption of the Charter of Algiers.
The Group of 77 at the United Nations is a coalition of developing nations, which aims to promote the collective economic interests of its members and create a greater capacity for joint negotiation within the United Nations.
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