(From left) Dr. Awni Behnam, President of the International Oceans Institute; Dr. Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Qatar Minister of Culture, Arts, and Heritage; Ambassador Cecilia B. Rebong, Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Chair of the G77 and China, Geneva Chapter; UNCTAD Secretariat Chief Group Liaison Unit Miguel R. Bautista; and Mr. Moshe Kao, Consultant and Assistant to UNCTAD XIII Preparatory Commission Chair.
07 August 2015 – Ambassador Cecilia B. Rebong, Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva and Chairperson of the Geneva Chapter of the Group of 77 and China (G77), with the generous assistance of the State of Qatar and the support of the Secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), organized the quadrennial retreat of the Geneva Chapter of the G77 at the UNESCO Building in Paris, France. The retreat is held before every UNCTAD Conference, with the next meeting to be held in Lima, Peru in March 2016. The retreat is an opportunity to prepare negotiators of the G77 so they are better able to represent the interests of the developing world in the quadrennial conference that will be held next year.
In her opening remarks Ambassador Rebong said that “The retreat is not only timely, but necessary since we are holding it at the heels of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, which resulted in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.” She added that “Our work as G77 and China in Geneva will need to build on the gains made in Addis Ababa as well as whatever will be agreed upon in New York in September on the Sustainable Development Goals. UNCTAD XIV will be the last opportunity for the developing South to make sure that our concerns are included in the development agenda of the next several years.” Ambassador Rebong further highlighted “The importance of reforming the global trading and global economic systems through agreements to be reached in UNCTAD XIV and make them more responsive to the needs of the developing countries.”
Qatar Culture Minister Dr. Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari who is also President of the last UNCTAD meeting, talked about the “Need to build on what was agreed in Doha in 2012. More, importantly, UNCTAD XIV in Lima, Peru should be about morality, it should be about ending poverty and recognizing that poverty is wrong and development is right.” He added that the next UNCTAD meeting should “Look at morals, equity, and justice since we are striving not only for our people, but for all humanity.”
The UNCTAD was created in 1964 to discuss the pressing development challenges of the day. Its aim is to level the playing field so that developing countries are able to take part in global trade and utilize it in such a way so as to foster their development. UNCTAD is also the only organization that deals with development from a holistic perspective, with its avowed goal being the achievement of prosperity for all. It has been holding conferences every four years since 1964 to update the organization’s mandate on development.
The Group of 77 and China was established 51 years ago during the first UNCTAD in 1964 and is made up of 134 countries mostly from what is known as the developing South. It is a major negotiating bloc in the field of development and it has chapters in Nairobi, New York, Paris, Rome, and Vienna aside from Geneva. The Philippines is chair of the Geneva and Paris chapters for the year 2015. END