28 September 2012: Fiji was elected Chair of the Group of 77 and China (G77/China), following a nomination by the Asia-Pacific Group at the G77 Ministerial Meeting in New York, US, in September 2012.

The nomination was accepted by Fiji’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, who expressed his gratitude to the members of the Group for the appointment, and said it was matter of pride for the Pacific Island region that a Pacific small island developing State (SIDS) will chair the Group for the first time since its establishment 48 years ago.

G77 was established in 1964 by 77 developing countries, signatories of the “Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries,” issued at the end of the first session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in Geneva, Switzerland. G77/China provides the means for the developing countries to articulate and promote their collective economic interests, and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues within the UN system. [Fiji Mission Press Release]