By Lisandra Cots
HAVANA, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) — With the arrival of the first leaders of the Group of 77 (G77) plus China in Havana today, Cuba moves closer to hosting a summit of its kind on its territory for the first time. Organization, scheduled for September 15th and 16th.
The Prime Minister of the island, Manuel Marrero, who welcomed this Tuesday at the Palace of the Revolution in the Antillean capital the first heads of state and government who arrived for the meeting, said that it is “vital” in a global scenario marked by serious crises There will be presence of representatives of developing countries in Cuba.
“We will rely on multilateralism and unity,” Marrero told local and foreign media.
Leaders and personalities from several countries confirmed their participation in the event and will arrive in the capital of the largest Antilles in the next few days, sources from the Cuban Foreign Ministry assured.
Under the theme “The Current Challenges of Development: Role of Science, Technology and Innovation”, the high-level meeting of the integration bloc will include the Presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; from Argentina, Alberto Fernández; from Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and from Honduras, Xiomara Castro.
According to information released by the Cuban Foreign Ministry, among the participants of the event were the leaders of Bolivia, Luís Arce; from Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe; from Mozambique: Filipe Jacinto Nyusi; of Laos, Thongloun Sisoulith, and the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves.
For his part, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres announced his imminent arrival in Havana to address the multilateral meeting after attending the G20 summit that will take place on September 9 and 10 in the Indian capital took place in New Delhi.
According to UN sources, the summit will be a stage to listen to “the voice of the global south” and the world body’s chief announced that he would advocate for the use of science and technology to ensure that multilateralism is available to all countries benefit.
José Ramón Cabañas, director of the Cuban International Policy Research Center, told Xinhua that the island has ensured all the conditions for the development of a successful event.
“At this summit, all member countries of the organization will sit down to speak as equals in the same room and try to find consensus in addressing the most serious problems they face,” the scientist said.
The meeting, convened by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, will make it possible to strengthen the unity of member countries and “decide on collective and practical measures to effectively address the current challenges,” said the president.
Since January of this year, Cuba assumed the pro tempore presidency of the G77 for the first time with a commitment to “advance the common interests of the South.”
During this period, events such as the meetings of the group’s education, culture and tourism ministers, as well as ministers and senior environmental authorities, took place in the country.
With 134 member states, the G77 plus China represents 80 percent of the world’s population and more than two-thirds of the members of the United Nations.