The Thirty-Second Meeting of the Chairs/Coordinators of the Chapters of the Group of 77 at various UN Centres was held from 14-15 February 2002 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Delegates discussed: preparations for major forthcoming UN conferences and summits; follow-up to the South Summit that took place from 10-14 April 2000 in Havana; and implementation of the Programme of Work for the year 2002 under the Chair of Venezuela. Delegates adopted a Communiqué at the end of the meeting addressing all of the above issues.
Highlights of the Communiqué: In discussing the International Conference on Financing for Development, delegates stressed the need to address global demand conditions, terms of trade, stability and reform of the international monetary and financial system, and the adequacy of external financing. Regarding the follow-up to the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Doha, the G-77 Communiqué emphasizes greater support for technical assistance and capacity building for developing countries to ensure their effective participation in the negotiating process launched at Doha. On issues related to Least Developed Countries, the Communiqué advocates the full implementation of paragraph 3 of the General Assembly resolution contained in document A/C.2/56/L.78 calling for enhancing the operational capacity of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
On the WSSD, the Communiqué states that the Summit should clearly identify the sources of finance and technology for Agenda 21 implementation and agree on time-bound targets for providing the means of implementation. Delegates also called for worldwide representation at the highest level at the forthcoming World Food Summit to be held from 10-13 June 2002 in Rome. In discussing South-South cooperation, the G-77 stressed the importance of the Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries as an instrument for promoting South-South cooperation and trade. The Final Communiqué adopted at this meeting is available online at: http://www.g77.org/news/pr021502.htm