HIS EXCELLENCY RATU EPELI NAILATIKAU
CF, LVO, ), KStJ, OBE (Mil) CSM, MSD
President of the Republic of Fiji

STATEMENT TO THE PLENARY OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY SUMMIT OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA HELD IN SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA ON
SUNDAY, 15TH JUNE, 2014

Your Excellency Mr Evo Morales Ayma, President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia,
Your Excellency, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations,
Your Excellencies the Heads of Delegations to this great gathering,

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen.

On behalf of the government and people of Fiji, I convey greetings to you all at this celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Group of 77 and China. I also take this opportunity to express profound thanks for the warm hospitality extended to the Fiji delegation by His Excellency President Evo Morales and the government and people of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

Further thanks are due for the sound leadership provided by Bolivia to the Group of 77 and China in its role as the Group's 2014 Chair. Bolivia's commitment, professionalism and efficiency in leading our Group has been boundless.

Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,

The Group of 77 was founded in 1964 to collectively strengthen the position of developing countries in international relations. Thereafter the first ministerial meeting of the Group in 1967 adopted the Charter of Algiers, which established the Group's strategic vision and objectives of development and peace.

Fifty years later, developing countries represent a great majority of both the world's population and of the membership of the United Nations. Of the 193 Member States of the UN, 133 are members of the Group of 77 and China. It goes without saying that the Group has a vital interest in defending the principles and objectives of the United Nations, particularly in the international community's efforts to eradicate poverty, to promote peace and development, and reinforce international cooperation and the democratization of the world order.

We have reached a stage in dealing with humanity's development issues and the global economic agenda, where these great concerns can only be properly advanced through multilateral processes and negotiations. For the developing countries, the Group of 77 and China has proved to be the most effective mechanism for our collective interests to be harmonized and championed, whenever and wherever forums or negotiations take place that affect humanity's socio-economic future. When common development goals are at stake, the Group's strength lies in its unity, and in leaving none of our membership behind.
Despite our great diversity in size, our geographic disparity, and our different stages of development, the Group has maintained a common front over the years. This has been due to the spirit of consensual consultation and solidarity that has prevailed in our Group, along with an innate respect for each other’s' differences. Our unity, solidarity and collective effort remain as the firm foundations of the Group, as we go about the work of promoting our common interests in the global development agenda.

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

We are all aware of the magnitude and complexity of the challenges facing the Group as we strive to accelerate the achievement of the MDGs, formulate the SDGs and elaborate on a universal global development agenda beyond 2015.

We can proceed with confidence, for the Group has much to be proud of in what it has achieved over the last half century. The world is as a result, a better place. In recent years, in the area of sustainable development, the Group has defended the principle of the primacy of open inter-governmental negotiations. We are vigilant in holding our partners, the developed countries, to the outcomes of these negotiations, and we have worked hard to ensure that action-oriented outcomes are globally aimed to benefit those who most require development assistance. The accumulation of all these achievements and collective endeavors of the Group are now productively feeding into the inter-governmental processes that are designing the post-2015 development agenda.

Your Excellencies, my intervention today would be incomplete if I did not mention the greatest challenges facing humanity in the twenty-first century. I refer of course to climate change and the related phenomena of rising sea levels, desertification, food security, increased human migration and HIV and AIDS, a scourge that has devastatingly hit the lives of the youth of most of our countries. These challenges must be negotiated and managed in a multilateral context if environmental and humanitarian concerns are to be safeguarded as best we can. The call is thus made to the Group of 77 and China, in this our fiftieth year, to address these challenges with every effort and to act progressively within the unity-in-diversity spirit that is our catch-cry.

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen

To conclude, let me once again express our deep appreciation to the President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia for hosting this historic Summit here in the beautiful city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Fiji has every confidence that under the leadership of Bolivia, the Group's collective efforts will reap the righteous harvest for which we struggle.
And I wish to reiterate, that for developing countries, it is the Group's collective effort that will be the critical factor in the shaping of the Post-2015 development agenda at this pivotal point in the history of multilateralism at the United Nations.

I close these remarks today, Your Excellencies, with a renewal of the pledge made by Fiji when handing over the Chairmanship of the Group five months ago to the President of Bolivia and his Government, that every support required of Fiji towards the enduring office of the Chair of the Group of 77 and China will be provided.

To all members of the Group, I wish you an enjoyable golden jubilee.

I thank you.