Developing Nations to Meet in Dubai
on Science and Technology

UNITED NATIONS (6 August 2002) – The first ever South-South High-level Conference on Science and Technology of the Group of 77 will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 27 to 30 October 2002, announced today Ambassador Milos Alcalay, Permanent Representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations and Chairman of the Group of 77 in New York.

The convening of this conference was decided at the South Summit in Havana (10-14 April 2000) with the objective of formulating global strategies and clear policies within the South for the promotion of science and technology. The Conference is being sponsored by the Group of 77 in New York in close coordination with the Chapter of the Group of 77 in Paris, Chaired by the United Arab Emirates, and in collaboration with the Municipality of Dubai.
This four-day Conference in Dubai will bring together policy makers from member countries of the Group of 77 as well as representatives from relevant scientific organizations, research institutions, universities, foundations, business sector and other stakeholder groups dealing with science and technology. To facilitate this aim, a high-level interactive dialogue among Ministers of Science and Technology, senior officials, scientists and researchers from the South will take place on 27 October 2002. Three workshops on information communication technology, safe drinking water, and biotechnology will be held during the conference. Other parallel events including an exhibition are scheduled to be organized by the Municipality of Dubai.

“Rapid advances in science and technology, particularly in such areas as microelectronics, biotechnology and information technologies, have played a critical role in economic and social development. Developing countries, however, lag far behind in knowledge generation. The disparity between the developed and developing world in their capacity to produce scientific and technical knowledge and to utilize this knowledge in support of social and economic development has emerged as a major challenge facing the international community”, remarked Ambassador Milos Alcalay, Chairman of the Group of 77 in New York, and Ambassador Hussein Ghubash, Chairman of the Group of 77 Paris Chapter at UNESCO in a joint message to participants.

To raise public awareness about the Conference, the Office of the Chairman of the Group of 77 is launching a new Web site devoted to the South-South High-level Conference on Science and Technology. The new Web site can be accessed through the Group of 77 home page at the Internet address http://www.g77.org.

Intended as a site for news and general information concerning the Conference, the Web site will be continuously updated by the Office of the Chairman. It features a joint welcome message by the Chairman of the Group of 77 and the Chairman of the Paris Chapter of the Group of 77. Also offered are sections describing the general background of the Conference and information about the host country and the city of Dubai. Information on conference registration and accreditation for participants and the media is also available, including a Press Centre that will carry press releases about the conference, Conference statements and other public information.

The Conference is being sponsored by the Group of 77, the largest coalition of developing nations in the world. The Group was founded on 15 June 1964, by seventy-seven developing countries at the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Group has since grown to 133 nations, representing almost the entire developing world, including China. The Group has six Chapters located at Geneva, Nairobi, Paris, Rome, Vienna and Washington, D.C. Over the past nearly four decades, the G-77’s role and influence have expanded as seen most recently at first South Summit.

For further information, please contact the Conference Secretariat located at the Office of the Chairman of the Group of 77, telephone: (212) 963-3816; fax: (212) 963-3515, E-mail: g77off@unmail.org. 

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