Egypt elected to chair Group of 77 at UN

CAIRO – 24 September 2017: One hundred and thirty four countries, under the banner of the Group of 77 at the United Nations, have handed Egypt the 2018 chairmanship of G-77 during the 41st Ministerial Meeting of the organization on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday.

The G77 is a coalition of developing nations at the UN that promotes its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the UN. The group was formed in 1964 featuring 77 developing countries in the UN. Even though its membership has grown to 134, it has kept its original name.

Egypt chaired the group in 1972-1973 and 1984-1985 sessions.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry delivered a speech before the meeting in which he praised Ecuador's role and efforts during its 2017 presidency, expressing his thanks to the member states of the group for their confidence.

After the election process, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the meeting, and highly commended the G-77 for its role in promoting multilateralism and advancing sustainable development.

"I commend your example of collective leadership that works together to promote fair multilateralism and advance sustainable development for all," Guterres said at the body's annual meeting.

The meeting was attended by a number of ministers of the group, who expressed their confidence in Egypt’s capability to assume the leadership of the group.

As chair of the Group of 77, Egypt will lead on economic issues, international trade negotiations, climate change, poverty, the international food shortage, and other issues of common interest among the developing countries.