2,000 delegates to attend G77+China summit in Kampala

Kampala, Uganda  | THE INDEPENDENT |  More than 2,000 delegates are expected to attend the G77+China summit that is to be held at the Common Wealth Resort Hotel Munyonyo between April 17-19. 

The G77 is the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries in the United Nations, used as a platform to articulate and promote their collective economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues. The coalition which was started by 77 countries, now has 135 member countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Uganda was confirmed as the host of the summit in October, last year making it the first African host for the event, which brings together heads of state of the Group of 77 coalition and more than 300 other high-level dignitaries from the member states and the United Nations. 

Speaking at the Uganda Media Center today, Ambassador Zakaria Fellah, the senior advisor for communication and outreach at the G77 secretariat in New York said their organisation brings together countries with large economies like India and China and those with emerging economies like many African Countries. 

Fellah said that they are a powerful coalition with a purpose of channelling their power into one single message so that their agenda is not dismissed by others. He added that speaking as a group has helped them to force their agenda on the United Nations, that would rather not have been on, were it to be left to individual countries. 

“When we negotiate with the UN as a team, it gives us more leverage to impose our views on those nations which think that they can do without us. We want them to be our partners on equal terms,” Fellah said.

The G77 has a one-year rotational leadership that is currently being held by Guyana. In 2021 the leadership will be taken over by an African country which will be selected during the Kampala summit.  

Fellah thanked the Government of Uganda for accepting to host the event while others were shunning it. Fellah said the summit is an opportunity for Uganda to highlight its potential to the world. 

“You need to make sure that during these three days, you take advantage and showcase the achievement your country has made. We need to make trade deals during and after the summit,” Fellah said. 

For his part, Ambassador Alfred Nnam, the head of public diplomacy department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Uganda is pleased to be hosting the summit. He said as a country, they will maximize the presence of the world media to showcase investment opportunities. 

“Uganda will be in the limelight of the world to boost our image as a country. Our tourism will be promoted because ambassadors will go and talk about us,” Nnam said. However, Nnam declined to disclose how much the country is spending on the summit.

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