G77-Third South Summit Held at Kampala in Uganda

The third South Summit was held at Kampala in Uganda from 20 to 23 January 2024 With the theme “Leaving No One Behind”.

• The Third South Summit is a platform to bring energy to the cooperation among its 134 member States of the Group of 77 (G-77) in a more competitive world. 
• From the Indian side Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan attended the inaugural session of the Third South Summit.

About South Summit

• South Summit is the supreme decision-making body of Group of 77.
• The First summit was held in Havana, Cuba, on April 10 – 14, 2000. The Second South Summit was held in Heldha, Qatar, on June 12 – 16, 2005.
• The summit aims to boost South-South cooperation, in the areas of trade and sustainable development, investment, climate change, poverty eradication, and digital economy.
• In Kampala, the 134 Member States reiterated the South's message of solidarity, unity, and complementarity, and vowed to speak with one voice to achieve their common goals.
• The Republic of Uganda, under the leadership of H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, inaugurates a new agenda for a prosperous, united and stronger South by hosting the Third South Summit. 

About G77

• On June 15, 1964, the Group of 77 (G-77) was established by 77 developing countries.
• At the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, 77 developing countries signed the “Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Developing Countries”.
• The first “Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 was held in Algiers (Algeria) on 10 – 25 October 1967, where countries adopted the Charter of Algiers”, a permanent institutional structure. 
• This structure gradually developed, and created Chapters of the Group of 77. 
• With time, G-77 members have increased to 134 countries, and the original name was retained due to its historic significance.
• The G-77 is a group made up of 134 counties, including India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc. 
• The Group of 77 is considered the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries under the ambit of the United Nations.
• G-77 aims to enhance the collective economic interests of Southern nations, negotiate major international economic issues, and promote South-South cooperation for development within the United Nations system.
• The Chairmanship is the highest political body within the organizational structure of the Group of 77. 
• It rotates on a regional basis among Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean. 
• In 2024, the Republic of Uganda holds the Chairmanship of the G-77 in New York.