More than 100 countries attend the G77 and China Summit

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres has confirmed his attendance at the event. Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha will lead the Vietnamese Government delegation to the conference.

Minister Rodriguez said that so far, more than 90 member countries have registered to present speakers at the event, showing great interest in this high-level meeting on science, technology and innovation. More than 500 reporters from 77 media agencies from 39 countries have been approved to attend the event.

The theme of the conference is “Current Development Challenges: The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation”. This is also a central issue that is of great relevance to the 134 members of the G77 and China. Minister Rodriguez believes that this content will promote a high-level, substantive debate, with strong statements on the most pressing political and economic issues facing developing countries in the context of a systemic international crisis.

South-South cooperation is a fundamental pillar and the summit is an opportunity to assess and discuss key challenges and core issues for the development of countries in the global South.

According to the Cuban Foreign Minister, the final draft declaration of the conference, which outlines the group's goals and principles and addresses the needs of developing countries, will be adopted on September 16, after a process of broad, harmonious and constructive consultations. Mr. Rodriguez affirmed that the Joint Declaration of the conference is faithful to the group's goals and principles, takes into account the needs of developing countries and is closely linked to the right to development in an international context of increasing monopoly, inequality, injustice and exploitation.

The final statement of the summit will provide a broad and important outline of the main obstacles to the development of the countries of the South and call for the establishment of a new international economic order, while also calling for a profound reform of the world financial architecture. The G77 and China will also advocate for the proper management of the growing external debt, compliance with international commitments on official development assistance, which is the moral obligation of industrialized countries, and financing the fight against climate change.

The text will also propose a number of activities such as organizing regular meetings of high-level bodies on science, technology and innovation issues; calling for enhanced South-South cooperation in these areas; requesting the organization of a high-level meeting on this topic within the UN and proposing an international day for science, technology and innovation in the Global South.

In a related development, Brazilian Ambassador to Cuba Christian Vargas said the two countries are expected to sign many agreements, mainly on cooperation in agriculture and energy transition, during President Lula da Silva's trip to the Caribbean island nation to attend the conference.

According to Ambassador Vargas, although he will not officially visit Cuba this time, the Brazilian President's trip will contribute to the South American country's foreign policy efforts to unify the interests and demands of southern countries.

During his stay in Havana for the summit, the Brazilian president is expected to hold talks with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. The two countries also plan to launch a direct commercial flight from Brasilia to Havana. Latam airline previously announced that it would begin operating the Brasilia-La Havana route in October, via a connecting flight in Lima, Peru.

Cuba currently holds the rotating presidency of the Group of 77 and China, a group that advocates for the interests of developing countries at the United Nations. The group currently has 134 member states, representing 80% of the world's population and about 70% of the UN's membership, but retains its original name.

The Cuban Government considers the G77-China Summit a forum for dialogue and agreement, an opportunity to strengthen solidarity and decide on collective and practical actions to effectively deal with current challenges.