Geneva – Nairobi – Paris – Rome – Vienna – Washington, D.C.
TO ADDRESS THE U.N. REFORMS IN ROME
ON 26-27 FEBRUARY 2007
The following Press Release was issued today by the Office of the Chairman of the Group of 77 in New York:
The Forty-first Meeting of the Chairmen/Coordinators of the Group of 77 Chapters at various United Nations Centres will be held in Rome from 26 to 27 February 2007 under the Chairmanship of Ambassador Munir Akram, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations and Chairman of the Group of 77 in New York.
The meeting will be held at the FAO Headquarters and will be hosted by Her Excellency Dr. Lamya Ahmed Al- Saqqaf, Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations Organizations in Rome and Chairperson of the Group of 77, Rome Chapter.
The opening ceremony will take place at the FAO Headquarters in Rome at 11:00 a.m. on 26 February 2007 and will be attended by all UN Member States and the Chairmen/ Coordinators of the Group of 77 Chapters: New York, Geneva, Nairobi, Paris, Rome, Vienna and Washington (G-24). The Heads of various UN institutions and other Organizations including FAO, IFAD, WFP, UNCTAD, UNIDO, UNEP, UNESCO, UNDP, CBD Secretariat, Special Unit for South-South Cooperation as well as the Heads of other Organizations, such as OPEC Fund, the Academy of Sciences of the Developing World (TWAS) have also been invited to attend the opening ceremony.
The meeting is expected to adopt a final communiqué. A press briefing will be held by His Excellency Ambassador Munir Akram, Chairman of the Group of 77, at the FAO Headquarters (Lebanon Room) at noon on 27 February 2007, following the conclusion of the meeting.
The Group of 77 was created on 15 June 1964 when 77 developing countries adopted at the conclusion of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development a Joint Declaration. The evolution and history of the Group of 77 have been intimately linked with the United Nations system. For the last four decades, the Group of 77 has been a major actor as prime initiator of initiatives within the framework of the United Nations with view to promoting international economic cooperation for development.
To date 130 developing countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean are members of the Group of 77.
The Chairmen/Coordinators of the Group of 77 Chapters for 2007 are:
New York: H.E. Ambassador Munir Akram (Pakistan)
Rome: H.E. Ambassador Lamya Ahmed Al-Saqqaf (Kuwait)
Geneva: H.E. Ambassador Delmer Urbizo (Honduras)
Nairobi: H.E. Ambassador Djismun Kasri (Indonesia)
Paris: H.E. Ambassador Mohammad Zahir Aziz (Afghanistan)
Vienna: H.E. Ambassador Sayed Galal Eldin Elsayed Elamin (Sudan)
Washington, DC: H.E. Mrs. Felisa Miceli (Argentina) (G-24)