DEVELOPMENT: G-77 Summit to Hammer Out Common Positions

By Patricia Grogg Reprint | | Print |

Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Feb 10 2000 (IPS) - The Cuban government hopes the summit of the Group of 77 (G-77) scheduled for Apr 10-14 in Havana will meet with success in hashing out common positions on the foreign debt and other pressing problems facing the developing South.

The gathering will draw representatives of the 133 nations presently comprising the G-77, whose name refers to the first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, held in Geneva in 1964, when 77 developing nations approved a resolution demanding more equitable participation in global trade.

The combined foreign debt of developing nations currently amounts to 2.5 trillion dollars, according to calculations by the Cuban government, which will host the first meeting of heads of state and government held by the G-77 since its founding in October 1967.

“Our position is that we need a serious aproach to the question,” said Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque, who is about to set out on a tour to other Caribbean nations as part of a diplomatic offensive by Cuba to encourage the largest possible number of leaders to attend the summit.

So far some 30 heads of state and government have confirmed their attendance at the meet during which G-77 members will work on coming up with a common position for the so-called United Nations Millenium Summit, slated for September in New York.

Pérez Roque said many countries dedicated more than half of their national budget just to servicing their foreign debts, “a veritable bloodletting.”

At a news briefing here, the minister described the initiative to forgive the foreign debt of 41 Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs), adopted by the Group of Seven most industrialised countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – as a “cosmetic operation.”

Pérez Roque said that in the space of four years, the initiative had only been applied to four countries, while he pointed out that the combined debt of the 41 HIPCs accounted for just 10 percent – “a mere trifle” – of the total amount owed by the developing South.

The problem of the bulky foreign debt is expected to be included in discussions on North-South relations, one of the four main points on the agenda of the summit to be held at the Palace of Conventions, some eight kilometres from downtown Havana.

The other key issues to be discussed are the globalisation of the world economy, South-South cooperation, and technology and know-how.

The Cuban government believes it essential for the G-77 to seek common positions regarding the process of economic globalisation, in a world where the gap between the richest and poorest nations is steadily growing.

In the view of G-77 chairman Arthur Mbanefo, the summit will provide a unique opportunity to hammer out a platform for collective action to resolve the problems facing the South and to define an action plan setting out clear targets and timeframes.

“The growing tendency towards globalisation and liberalisation has turned out to be a challenge for most developing countries, many of which have found themselves marginalised by the global economy,” said Mbanefo on a visit to Cuba early this month.

The summit participants are to approve a final declaration based on a draft text drawn up by Cuba.

At United Nations headquarters in New York, the Caribbean island nation also submitted to the G-77 a file containing 60 cooperation projects, as a contribution to the debate on the issue.

Also invited to the summit are representatives of 56 countries that do not form part of the G-77, including the members of the Group of Seven.

Pérez Roque said the guests would be invited to take part in the gathering’s opening and closing sessions. They will also be welcome to attend the debates as observers.

Prior to the summit, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will hold a Mar 1-3 forum on the challenges of globalisation, and parliamentarians from G-77 countries will hold a Mar 9-10 workshop on North-South relations in times of globalisation.

From Mar 21 to 23, representatives of the business communities of G-77 nations will hold a conference to discuss the challenges facing businesses in the South in the new millenium.

The main issues on the agenda of the business gathering, the results of which will be presented to the G-77 summit, will be “Access to Markets, Trade and Competitiveness” and “Financing for Business Development”.