DOHA, June 12, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Preparatory meetings of the second summit of the Group of 77 and China kicked off Sunday, June 12, in the Qatari capital, with the ultimate aim of changing its image of being no more than an aid seeker.

"We need to enhance unity and solidarity of the developing countries as a pre-requisite to promote the negotiating ability of the South in the international gatherings," Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, Qatar's permanent representative to the UN, said in his opening speech.

He also stressed the need to prepare for the upcoming UN Millennium Summit, slated for September, which will review implementation of the Millennium Declaration, adopted by the General Assembly on September 18, 2000, as a blueprint for a more just, peaceful, and prosperous world.

The G-77 constitutes the largest Third World voting bloc at the UN.

The summit will proceed through a series of evolutionary phases, with the diplomatic groundwork being laid by senior officials, followed by a ministerial-level meeting, and culminating at the heads-of-state level on Wednesday and Thursday.

Bringing together heads of state and delegations from more than 132 countries, it will discuss means of promoting South-South economic, social and political cooperation, North-South relations as well as UN reform.

Among world dignitaries attending the summit are British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, whose country is holding the rotating EU presidency, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Founded in 1964 with the aim of promoting the collective economic interests of the developing world, the G-77 eventually grew to encompass 132 countries, though the original name was retained.

Mohammed Abdullah Al Rumaihi, Qatar's Assistant Foreign Minister for Follow-up Affairs, told the Qatari daily Al Sharq that the G-77 also seeks to cast off the negative image some associated with the first summit held in Havana, Cuba, in April 2000.

He added that new mechanisms, crafted by Qatar and Jamaica, the G-77's former and incumbent chairmen, will see the light during the summit.

A senior Qatari official also said the member states would approve a new action plan for the coming five days.

With emphasis being given to development and aid, meetings of more than two dozen intergovernmental bodies and UN agencies, including heavyweights such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, will be held on the sidelines of the summit.