Phl heads Geneva’s Group 77

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has assumed the chairmanship of the Geneva chapter of the Group of 77 and China.

The Philippine assumed the role from Chad after a handover ceremony held at the United Nations office in Geneva last Jan. 29.

The country’s term will end on Dec. 31.

In 2014, the Philippines served as vice chair of G-77 and China.

Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Cecilia Rebong takes over from Malloum Bamanga Abbas, permanent representative of Chad to UN Geneva.

During the handover ceremony, Rebong congratulated Abbas for his excellent stewardship of the group in 2014.

“Through his leadership and wisdom he was able to effectively lead our group during numerous difficult negotiations conducted last year. More importantly, he was able to advance the interests of the developing world,” Rebong said.

For his part, Abbas said G-77 was able to make an impressive and meaningful contribution to the outcome of the group’s summit held in June 2014 in Bolivia.

He added that under the chairmanship of Rebong, the group must intensify and enhance its contributions to its broader tasks.

“We must provide solid inputs