7 November 2013: The Plurinational State of Bolivia has been formally elected to succeed Fiji as Chair of the Group of 77 and China (G-77/China) in 2014. The selection took place at a ceremonial meeting at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on 7 November 2013.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson thanked Peter Thompson (Fiji) and welcomed Llorentty Soliz (Bolivia) to the role of Chair. Eliasson recalled that Bolivia is a founding member of the G-77. He noted that 2014 will be a crucial year for accelerating achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and crafting the post-2015 development agenda. He highlighted the UN Secretary-General’s recent annual report, ‘A Life of Dignity for All,’ and his Call to Action on Sanitation as important initiatives in this regard.

On behalf of UN General Assembly (UNGA) President John Ashe, Paulette Bethel, Chef de Cabinet, stressed the important role of the G-77/China in reaching a shared universal agenda on the path to poverty eradication and sustainable development. She said this will require support from Northern allies, and that the international community must also address imbalances in the current architecture of global financial and economic governance. She emphasized that South-South cooperation is a top priority for the UNGA, and looked forward to the convening of an event on ‘Contributions of South-South, Triangular Cooperation, and ICT for Development’ in 2014. [Statement of UN Deputy Secretary-General] [Statement of UNGA President] [IISD RS Story on ‘A Life of Dignity for All’] [IISD RS Story on Call to Action on Sanitation]