Cuba G77+China Summit Advocates A Fresh Global Order

The G77+China, a coalition of developing and emerging nations representing 80% of the global population, initiated a summit in Cuba with a call to “alter the prevailing global order.”

This gathering occurs amid mounting dissatisfaction with the Western-dominated world order, marked by increasing disagreements over the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, climate change efforts, and the global economic system.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, in his opening remarks at the summit, asserted that it is now the responsibility of the Southern countries to revise the rules governing the global order, following years during which the Northern nations organized the world in their favor.

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Diaz-Canel emphasized that developing nations are the primary victims of today’s “multifaceted crisis” in the world, encompassing issues like “unfair trade practices” and global warming.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, joined approximately 30 heads of state and government from Africa, Asia, and Latin America at the two-day event in Havana. In his address, Guterres called for a more representative and responsive global order to address the challenges facing developing economies.

The G77+China was founded in 1964 by 77 countries from the Global South to promote their collective economic interests and enhance their negotiating power. It now includes 134 members, including China.

Cuba currently holds the rotating presidency. Leaders from various Latin American countries, as well as Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and other African leaders, attended the summit.

China, represented by senior Communist Party official Li Xi, reaffirmed its commitment to South-South cooperation in its international dealings.

Leaders at the summit discussed the epochal changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the glaring inequalities in vaccine access, with 90% of vaccines concentrated in the hands of 10 countries.

The summit is expected to conclude with a statement underscoring “the right to development in an increasingly exclusive, unfair, unjust, and exploitative international order,” according to Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez. A draft of the closing statement calls for the establishment of a new global economic order.

The presence of world leaders in Cuba is seen as recognition of the Cuban government, despite its current economic crisis and enduring US sanctions.

Diaz-Canel has represented the G77+China at various international meetings in recent months, further establishing Cuba’s role on the global stage.