I welcome all our guests to Uganda, the Pearl of Africa for the Third South Summit of the Group of 77 and China. Your personal participation at this Summit, which is being held 18 years after the Second Summit that took place in the State of Qatar in June, 2005 demonstrates your commitment to the work of G77 and China.

Uganda is taking over the Chairmanship of the Group at an opportune time when we celebrate our 60th anniversary. I thank you all for entrusting us with chairing the Group 77 and China for 2024.

We shall strive to further promote: acceleration of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda; scaling up action to address climate change and biodiversity loss; strengthening international tax cooperation; financing for development; fight against illicit financial flows and strengthening digital cooperation, among others.