The Group of 77 plus China assess UNCTAD X
Regional-International, Economics, 2/16/2000

The chairmen and regional coordinators of the Group of 77 (G-77) plus China held a meeting here on Tuesday to assess the progress of works of the 10th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD X) currently underway in the Thai capital.

Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Mohamed Benaissa who initiated the meeting-- Morocco being the group acting chairman-- stressed the need for the group members to maintain consensus and solidarity on the various items of the plan of action agreed upon in Marrakesh last September.

The representatives of Nigeria, Iran, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Uruguay, who attended the meeting, came to the conclusion that the group should tirelessly endeavor to avoid political aspects being introduced in the documents to be adopted by the Bangkok conference and to ensure follow-up of the UNCTAD X and of the action plan.

Benaissa informed the UNCTAD X chairman, the Thai deputy premier and minister of trade, about the conclusions reached by the G-77 plus China.

The G-77 plus China was established in 1998 to devise a work plan for UNCTAD. It includes 135 Asian, African, Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Benaissa also held a meeting with UNCTAD secretary general Rubens Ricupero to inform him about the stands of the G-77 and about the ongoing consultations to reach solutions matching the interests of all countries.

The representatives of the 190 member countries taking part in the UNCTAD X --which started proceeding on February 12-- are preparing the Bangkok Declaration, which has to be completed before the U.N. session ends on Saturday.

According to the Thai news agency TNA, some issues had already been agreed upon, including the prevention of corruption, details of the debt release scheme for the world's 48 least developed countries by western creditor nations, the role of non-government organization (NGOs) in the UNCTAD, and an appropriate degree of market opening up of developed countries to developing countries.

Representatives of developed and developing countries are still divided regarding the issue of how far the UNCTAD should involve in shaping world trade policies, TNA said.

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