The Senior Officials Meeting of the Third South Summit of the Group of 77+China (G77) has been officially opened in the Convention Center-Victoria Ball at the Commonwealth Speke Resort Munyonyo.

The meeting was opened by Vincent Waiswa Bagiire, the Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Uganda, on Thursday, January 18, 2024, as they met to consider the draft outcome document of the 3rd South Summit.

Bagiire said that the outcome document was discussed and negotiated with an expert while in New York, adding that the meeting will finalize its business at the expected time. He said that by adopting a consultative approach, the group has yielded significant milestones for over 12 months.

“The cohesiveness and consultative approach of the group have resulted in important milestones and achievements over the last 12 months,” Bagiire said.

The PS noted that the group is meeting at a time when the world is faced with multiple challenges, including geopolitical upheavals and economic and financial challenges, among others, in several countries.

“We meet at a time when the world is facing multiple challenges, including geopolitical tensions, economic and financial challenges in many countries, as well as the debt crisis,” he noted.

Bagiire further noted that the G77+China should utilize the opportunity and play an important role in strengthening a more inclusive and prosperous world. He stated that the member states need to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda to sustain their governments.

“The implementation is lagging. It is therefore imperative that concerted efforts be made to scale up the organisation of resources in terms of financial, capacity-building, and technology requests to deliver the agenda,” the Permanent Secretary noted.

Bagiire urged members to create opportunities for young people, harness their potential, and achieve gender equality, among others, noting that the G77 has been at the forefront of calling for a successful implementation of the PARIS Agreement for climate change and the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.

He noted that the group aims at adopting science and innovation strategies as integral elements for achieving sustainable development, promoting and respecting national sovereignty, implementing development goals, and strengthening partnerships among member states.

He thanked the leadership of Cuba, especially Ambassador Pedro Luis Pedrosso Cuesta, the Chair of the G77+China, for tremendously chairing the previous summit that occurred in China in 2023, and welcomed the delegates to Uganda.

The 3rd South Summit of the G77 will be hosted in Uganda from January 21–23, 2024, at Speke Resort Munyonyo under the theme “Leaving No One Behind,” which was chosen based on the Sustainable Development Goals, which mainly aim at eradicating poverty, addressing climate change, and ensuring the development of all member states.

The G77 currently has a membership of 134 countries but has, however, maintained its name to attach importance to the original founding 77 member states. G77 started because the world was overwhelmed with increasing inequalities and more than ever, which the group needed to tackle and come up with global solutions in a multilateral, inclusive way by listening to the poor and more vulnerable at the forefront and grabbing the opportunity of a paradigm-shifting pandemic to build a better world.