Dubai welcomes High-Level delegations on eve of South-South Conference on Science and Technology

Group of 77 / Executive Secretariat of the Conference / Dubai – 25 October 2002 – Delegations from Member States of the Group of 77 began to arrive in Dubai to participate in the first ever South-South High Level Conference on Science and Technology, to be inaugurated on Sunday 27 October 2002, at 10:00 a.m. at the Rotana Al-Bustan Hotel.
The Chairman of the Group of 77 in New York and Permanent Representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations, His Excellency, Ambassador Milos Alcalay, is expected to arrive today.

Yesterday, Dubai welcomed a high-level delegation from Cuba headed by His Excellency Mr. Daniel Codorniu, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Science, Technology and Environment. The Cuban delegation to participate in the Conference comprises His Excellency Mr. Enrique Enriquez Rodriguez, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Qatar, and Mr. Jose Raul Castro Diaz-Balart, eminent member of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba.

The delegation of the Republic of Iraq also arrived yesterday. It is headed by His Excellency Mr. Abd el-Khalek Al-Hamam, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The Deputy Minister of Communications and Technology of the Republic of the Maldives, His Excellency Mr. Midhat Hilmy, also reached Dubai yesterday. Among the eminent participants arrived today, Mr. Mohammad Hassan, the Executive Director of the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), based in Trieste, Italy. TWAS has sponsored the participation of more than 100 Scientists in the Conference.

The convening of the Conference has been decided by the Heads of State and Government of the Group of 77, at the South Summit, held in Havana in April 2000. It is sponsored by the Group of the Group of 77, in New York and in close collaboration with the Group’s Paris Chapter, chaired by the United Arab Emirates. It aims at formulating a global strategy and a clear vision for a renewed South-South cooperation in science and technology.

The Group of 77 was established on 15 June 1964. It is the largest coalition of developing countries in the world. This year, the Group marked its 38th anniversary and has grown significantly in size and influence since its inception. With the Republic of Palau joining the Group, the G –77 now comprises 134 nations and represents 4/5 of the world’s population. The organization is headquartered at the United Nations in New York and has several chapters in important UN centers including Geneva, Nairobi, Paris, Rome, Vienna, and Washington, DC.

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