Copyright 2000 InterPress Service, all rights reserved.
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                      *** 10-Feb-2* ***

Title: DEVELOPMENT: G-77 Summit to Hammer Out Common Positions

By Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Feb 10 (IPS) - The Cuban government hopes the summit of
the Group of 77 (G-77) scheduled for Apr 10-14 in Havana will meet
with success in hashing out common positions on the foreign debt
and other pressing problems facing the developing South.

The gathering will draw representatives of the 133 nations
presently comprising the G-77, whose name refers to the first
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, held in Geneva
in 1964, when 77 developing nations approved a resolution
demanding more equitable participation in global trade.

The combined foreign debt of developing nations currently
amounts to 2.5 trillion dollars, according to calculations by the
Cuban government, which will host the first meeting of heads of
state and government held by the G-77 since its founding in
October 1967.

''Our position is that we need a serious aproach to the
question,'' said Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe P‚rez Roque, who is
about to set out on a tour to other Caribbean nations as part of a
diplomatic offensive by Cuba to encourage the largest possible
number of leaders to attend the summit.

So far some 30 heads of state and government have confirmed
their attendance at the meet during which G-77 members will work
on coming up with a common position for the so-called United
Nations Millenium Summit, slated for September in New York.

P‚rez Roque said many countries dedicated more than half of
their national budget just to servicing their foreign debts, ''a
veritable bloodletting.''

At a news briefing here, the minister described the initiative
to forgive the foreign debt of 41 Highly Indebted Poor Countries
(HIPCs), adopted by the Group of Seven most industrialised
countries - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United
Kingdom and the United States - as a ''cosmetic operation.''

P‚rez Roque said that in the space of four years, the
initiative had only been applied to four countries, while he
pointed out that the combined debt of the 41 HIPCs accounted for
just 10 percent - ''a mere trifle'' - of the total amount owed by
the developing South.

The problem of the bulky foreign debt is expected to be
included in discussions on North-South relations, one of the four
main points on the agenda of the summit to be held at the Palace
of Conventions, some eight kilometres from downtown Havana.

The other key issues to be discussed are the globalisation of
the world economy, South-South cooperation, and technology and
know-how.

The Cuban government believes it essential for the G-77 to seek
common positions regarding the process of economic globalisation,
in a world where the gap between the richest and poorest nations
is steadily growing.

In the view of G-77 chairman Arthur Mbanefo, the summit will
provide a unique opportunity to hammer out a platform for
collective action to resolve the problems facing the South and to
define an action plan setting out clear targets and timeframes.

''The growing tendency towards globalisation and liberalisation
has turned out to be a challenge for most developing countries,
many of which have found themselves marginalised by the global
economy,'' said Mbanefo on a visit to Cuba early this month.

The summit participants are to approve a final declaration
based on a draft text drawn up by Cuba.

At United Nations headquarters in New York, the Caribbean
island nation also submitted to the G-77 a file containing 60
cooperation projects, as a contribution to the debate on the
issue.

Also invited to the summit are representatives of 56 countries
that do not form part of the G-77, including the members of the
Group of Seven.

P‚rez Roque said the guests would be invited to take part in
the gathering's opening and closing sessions. They will also be
welcome to attend the debates as observers.

Prior to the summit, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will
hold a Mar 1-3 forum on the challenges of globalisation, and
parliamentarians from G-77 countries will hold a Mar 9-10 workshop
on North-South relations in times of globalisation.

From Mar 21 to 23, representatives of the business communities
of G-77 nations will hold a conference to discuss the challenges
facing businesses in the South in the new millenium.

The main issues on the agenda of the business gathering, the
results of which will be presented to the G-77 summit, will be
''Access to Markets, Trade and Competitiveness'' and ''Financing
for Business Development''. (END/IPS/tra-so/pg/sw/00)


Origin: Montevideo/DEVELOPMENT/
                              ----

       [c] 2000, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS)
                     All rights reserved

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