NEW YORK, 16 April 2002 – The following communiqué was issued today by the spokesman of the Office of the Chairman of the Group of 77 in New York: At a meeting of the Group of 77 of the Whole at the ambassadorial level, held on 15 April 2002 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the 133 Member States of the United Nations that comprise the Group of 77 and China added their voice of support and solidarity with the people and Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and President Hugo Chávez Frías, and welcomed the return of constitutional order and his reinstatement as the duly elected President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Chairman of the Group of 77.

The Member States of the Group of 77 reiterated their appreciation to President Hugo Chávez Frías for the many expressions of the concerns of developing countries that he had raised in world forums on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and also to His Excellency Mr. Luis Alfonso Dávila, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador Milos Alcalay, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, for the exemplary way in which Venezuela had conducted the affairs of the Group of 77 since taking over the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 in January 2002.

While reiterating their pledge of support and solidarity with the people and Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as the presiding country of the Group of 77 for the year 2002, the Member States of the Group of 77 and China hoped for national reconciliation through political dialogue based on the rule of law and democracy following G-77 South Summit and UN Millennium Summit guidelines, and that right will continue to prevail over might as was demonstrated very dramatically by the people of Venezuela.

*****