United Nations, Jan 15 Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that the G77, as a “strong pillar of multilateralism”, remains indispensable when international cooperation is under strain in a world facing multifarious crises.
“We begin this year amid raging conflicts, widening inequalities, mounting debt burdens, and an erosion of trust,” he said on Wednesday.
"That is why we need a renewed commitment to cooperation -- in a truly interconnected, multipolar world. And that is why the Group of 77 and China remain indispensable,” he said.
“Time and again, you have shown unity and strength,” he said at the ceremony for the group’s annual change of presidency.
Iraq’s Permanent Representative, Lukman Al-Faily, ceremonially handed over the gavel of the presidency to Uruguay’s Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin, marking the transfer of the Group of 77’s leadership.
India is a founding member of the G77, which was started in 1964 with 77 countries and now has 134 members.
It has emerged as the voice of the Global South, providing a unified platform for developing countries to push their interests and to promote South-South cooperation.
Lubetkin said his country was taking over the presidency at a critical moment for the UN and for the rules-based international order.
“We will defend the interests of our group, and we will strengthen its position within the UN system,” he said.
The growing international challenges “require ever more collective cooperation to reach our common goals in the context of an international law that is ever more affected”, he said.
Gutteres, outlining the tasks ahead for which the G77 must take a leadership role, said, “We need reforms to give developing countries greater participation and influence in international financial institutions”.
He drew attention to the global digital divide, now amplified by the emergence of artificial intelligence.
“We must ensure the digital age becomes an engine of inclusion -- not an accelerator of inequality,” he said.
“We must also narrow the divide in computing power, data, research, skills, and safety standards,” Guterres said, pointing out that over 80 countries lack the basic capacity to design, build, or deploy AI systems.
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