G77+China Summit to tackle core development issues, as Havana readies for delegations

HAVANA, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming Group of 77 plus China (G77+China) Summit Havana this Friday and Saturday will tackle core development issues, while the Cuban capital is geared up to receive delegations from over 100 countries.

"The summit aims to evaluate and debate the main challenges and core issues of the development of the nations of the South," Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"We hope that the upcoming summit in Havana strengthens the voice of the Group of 77 and China," he said, adding that "the road to development is intrinsically related to science, technology, and innovation."

Li Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, will attend the summit as the special representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Held under the banner "Current development challenges: the role of science, technology and innovation," the summit is set to issue a final declaration that will include the purposes and principles of the bloc and address the needs of developing countries, said Rodriguez.

The declaration will highlight developing nations' "right to development amid an increasingly exclusive, inequitable, unjust and plundering international order," he pointed out.

Jose Ramon Cabanas, director of the International Policy Research Center of Cuba, told Xinhua that the summit will demonstrate the consensus reached by G77+China member states.

"This summit is taking place in a critical moment in history in the middle of a post-pandemic period," he said, stressing the importance of cooperation and solidarity.

For his part, Cuban expert Ramon Pichs said that the G77+China Summit will be essential to address pressing topics like climate emergencies.

"For developing countries, for G77+China and Cuba, the moment to act in regards to climate change is now," he said, calling the issue a massive challenge for the development of countries.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will speak at the summit's opening, together with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Cuba took on the rotating presidency of the G77 plus China this January.

On Wednesday, traffic diversion measures were implemented in some of Havana's main avenues and streets ahead of the summit. Havana's Palace of Conventions and Pabexpo have been embellished to receive presidents, prime ministers and high-ranking officials who will visit the Cuban capital in the coming days, according to Cuban News Agency ACN.

Meanwhile, billboards that read "Making true the right to development" have been displayed citywide. Airport operations at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport have been re-adjusted to facilitate the arrival of foreign delegations, Cuba's civil aviation authorities said.

"We will give a warm welcome to all delegations in attendance. Cuba is an excellent place to talk about urgent topics affecting humankind," said taxi driver Raul Martinez.