ISLAMABAD, 01 December 2021, (TON): Pakistan has been elected the next chair of the ‘Group of 77’, which is the largest intergovernmental grouping of developing countries in the United Nations.

The Foreign Office said in a statement “the development comes during the 45th ministerial meeting of Group of 77 and China, held in a virtual format.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi addressed the meeting and thanked the 134 members of G77 and China for reposing their trust in Pakistan to lead the group in 2022.

He highlighted that the world is confronted with a triple crisis: the Covid pandemic and its consequences; the challenge of realising the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development; and the existential threat of climate catastrophe, which has had a disproportionate impact on the developing countries.

He added that an inclusive and equitable recovery from the current crisis would only be possible if the developing countries are provided with adequate means, especially financial resources, to return to the path of sustained and sustainable economic growth.

FM Qureshi also emphasised that the developing countries needed to promote a “Common Development Agenda” to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.