South Africa has assumed the chair of the Group of 77 (G77) – the largest coalition of developing countries in the United Nations (UN), which enables southern hemisphere countries to articulate and promote their collective economic interests.

The collective also enhances the members’ joint negotiating capacity on major international economic and development issues in the UN system, promotes South-South cooperation and strengthens economic and technical cooperation among developing countries.

During its term, South Africa would be responsible for negotiating and speaking on behalf of two-thirds of the UN membership on key development issues.

Accepting the responsibility of chairing the G77 at an event at the UN headquarters, in New York, on Thursday, International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Luwellyn Landers thanked the members of the G77 for placing their “trust and confidence in South Africa”.

He also thanked Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma for the South American country’s stewardship of the G77 in 2014.

“South Africa will spare no effort in continuing Bolivia’s legacy by ensuring that we collectively enhance the development agenda of the South,” he commented.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement on Friday that South Africa would chair the G77 at a crucial juncture in the global community’s efforts to agree on the development priorities and goals needed to take the work of the Millennium Development Goals forward and to further development beyond 2015. 

It added that this year was also a “critically important” year for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as a new legal instrument that contained commitments from both developed and developing countries was expected to be adopted under the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action.

“After 50 distinguished years, the G77 remains all the more relevant, specifically at this important juncture when the international community is considering our collective development aspirations beyond 2015,” Landers commented.