PH Calls for G77 to Meet the Development Challenges Through UNCTAD

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Ambassador Evan P. Garcia (left), Permanent Representative of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, and Ambassador James Msekela (right) Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations in Geneva and Chair of the Group of 77 and China, at the Ambassadorial Retreat of the G77 and China on July 02 at the InterContinental Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland.

06 June 2017 GENEVA - Ambassador Evan P. Garcia, Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva called on the Group of 77 and China to live up to its goal of bringing development to its member countries during the Ambassadorial Retreat of the Group of 77 and China held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva on June 02. Ambassador James Msekela, Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations in Geneva and Chair of the Group of 77 and China chaired the half-day event, which gathered the entire Geneva Chapter of the development bloc.

Ambassador Garcia said the G77 and China should “strategize and plan on how to deal with the development challenges of the day.” This is especially true given the shifting landscape with “some countries pulling back from multilateralism and wanting to revert back to an era of protectionism.” 

He added that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, with its new found mandate as detailed in the Nairobi Maafikiano, “is the perfect mechanism to help promote development in countries of the developing South along with other UN development agencies.” He pointed out that “UNCTAD will be especially useful in data and statistics gathering and policy dialogue and advocacy which are crucial elements if countries are to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”

The retreat discussed the current development challenges of the day which include instability, inequality, indebtedness, unregulated investments which expose developing countries to risks, the slowing levels of ODA from North to South, climate change, global pandemics, new technologies which could lead to job losses in developing countries, among others. These are global issues, which should be dealt with from a multilateral perspective by groups such as the G77 and China and development institutions like UNCTAD.

The retreat culminated in an agreement that the Group of 77 and China would form Working Groups to tackle the development challenges of the day and come up with strategies on how best to face them. Furthermore the group agreed to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Charter of Algiers, which established the permanent structures of the Group, which has chapters in Geneva, Nairobi, New York, Paris, Rome, and Vienna. END.

Ambassador Garcia participates in the discussions at the Ambassadorial Retreat of the Group of 77 and China.