United Nations (UN) of
ficials have urged the bloc of developing countries known as the “Group of 77 and China”, to work collectively towards reaching the anti-poverty targets known as the MDGs by the 2015 deadline.
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, General-Assembly President, John Ashe, stated this during the handing over to the Foreign Minister of Bolivia RabuInoke Kubuabola.
He will represent the Bolivian President, Evo Morales as chairman of the forum.
The Group, established in 1964 by 77 states, now has more than 130 countries, some two-thirds of the UN membership, and over 60 per cent of the world’s population.
“Less than two years remain to the end of 2015. In that time, we must do much more to achieve the MDGs, define a unified and universal post-2015 development agenda and agree on a global climate agreement,’’ Ki-moon said.
Ki-moon noted the importance of members of the forum working together with the available tools to eradicate poverty, improve social and economic well-being and lay the foundations for a sustainable future.
“We live in a time of almost limitless possibility,” Ki-moon said, noting that the time had come when the stakes had never been higher.
Also speaking, the president of the general assembly stressed the importance of working collectively, particularly to lay the groundwork for a post-2015 development agenda.
“The next 12 months will determine whether or not we are able to deliver on the promises of 2015.
“Under Bolivia’s watch, the G77 will have an important role to play in the activities and processes that will, as the saying goes, make or break our collective success,’’ he stated.
Marking the G77’s 50th anniversary, Ashe commended the forum for its strong commitment to working together over the years, even as goals and national circumstances have changed.
“You are an example of the might of South-South Cooperation, and a harbinger of greater collaboration that is yet to come,” he said.
Speaking to newsmen after the ceremony, Morales noted that food security, poverty reduction and creating sustainable ways to protect the earth, was among the world’s most pressing issues.
He expressed the hope that those and other concerns, would bring about successful, concrete conclusions at a summit he planned to hold in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in June 2014 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Group.
“This is a time of people, not empires. Bankers and big corporate directors often become countries’ leaders, but in Bolivia, we seek to govern through the people,’’ he said.