LAST Sunday, the Group of 77 celebrated its 50th anniversary, having been formed on June 15, 1964 during the first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) conference.

The occasion was celebrated at an Extraordinary Summit held in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, which is currently the chair of the G77 and China. The theme of this year’s summit was ‘For a New World Order For Living Well’.

After the ‘Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries’ was approved by UNCTAD, the first major meeting was held in Algiers from October 10 – 25, 1967, where the Charter of Algiers was adopted and the basis for permanent institutional structures was agreed on.

The Group was so named because there were 77 developing countries in attendance at the inaugural meeting. It has since increased to 133 countries, but the original name was retained due to its historic significance.

The objective of the G-77 is to articulate and promote their collective economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues within the United Nations system, and promote South-South co-operation for development. Major policy decisions are made by South Summits, the supreme decision-making body of the Group.

The first South Summit was held in Havana, Cuba, from April 10 – 14, 2000 and the second in Doha, Qatar, on 12 – 16 June, 2005. On the basis of geographical rotation, the third South is due to be held in Africa. The Group of 77 prepares policy positions prior to important international meetings, notably the Annual Meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 convened at the beginning of the regular session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

The G77, like other multilateral fora of developing countries, is particularly important to small states that can only influence international development through strategic alliances of developing countries.

Jamaica is a member of the G77 and was very active during the governments led by Messrs Michael Manley and P J Patterson. Both played leadership roles in many of the key decisions during their time and Jamaica chaired the Group of 77 when Ambassador Don Mills was Jamaica’s representative to the UN.

Like all multi-country groupings, the tectonic changes in the world economy, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the rise and decline of superpowers have posed challenges to arriving at consensus positions which are not the lowest common denominator.

The diversification of the countries in the category of developing is such that it is difficult to find common ground. One of the dilemmas is the membership of China as well as some of the more developed countries such as India and Brazil.

The G77 has made an important contribution to furthering the agenda of developing countries over the 50 years of its existence. The circumstances in which it has operated have changed dramatically and hence its work programme has been adapted to meet changing demands.

Some issues have persisted over the 50 years, particularly those related to economic development. Some issues have declined in relevance, namely colonialism, and new ones have emerged, notably climate change.

The G77 remains relevant for small states such as Jamaica because it allows the leveraging of the critical political mass in support of issues of concern.