Rwanda Named Powerful Chair of G77 and China for 2027

NEW YORK — Rwanda has been chosen to lead the Group of 77 and China in 2027.

Additionally, ministers from the developing-country bloc selected Kigali by acclamation.

It occurred at their 50th annual meeting on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly.

Overview

The gathering, held Friday under the theme, brought together ministers from a 134-member coalition.

Moreover, it reflected ongoing debates on multilateralism at the United Nations.

Uruguay currently holds the chairmanship for 2026.

The New York meeting was also the moment at which members designated the next chair.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe told the session that Rwanda accepted the responsibility. Moreover, he said Kigali would use the chairmanship to advance developing countries’ shared priorities. It would also uphold the principles of the UN Charter through closer coordination and greater transparency.

Nduhungirehe thanked African states and other members of the group for the confidence placed in Rwanda.

He described the G77 and China as more important than ever.

Additionally, this comes at a time of strained multilateral institutions, rising debt, climate pressure, and uneven representation in global decision-making.

Chairmanship rotation and upcoming handover

The chairmanship rotates among the group’s regional groupings.

After Uganda in 2024, Iraq in 2025 and Uruguay in 2026, the 2027 term returns to Africa.

Formal handover is expected in January 2027.

Until then, Rwanda will prepare to take over the bloc’s day-to-day coordination in New York.

Additionally, the group negotiates as a single voice on development, finance, climate and UN reform.

On the sidelines of the same high-level week, Nduhungirehe met Uruguay’s foreign minister, Mario Lubetkin, who is the current chair. Lubetkin told ministers that the Global South should not have to ask permission to shape the future international order. Moreover, the group’s influence depends on preserving its unity. Uruguay is expected to pass on the experience of its year in the chair as Rwanda prepares to succeed it.

The Group of 77 was formed in 1964 by 77 developing countries.

Since then, it has grown to 134 members and issues joint positions under the name Group of 77 and China.

Its annual ministerial meeting, held each September during the General Assembly, sets political guidance for the year ahead.

It remains one of the main forums in which developing countries speak collectively at the United Nations.

Rwanda’s selection comes as the country has used this year’s General Assembly week to expand bilateral contacts.

Additionally, it presses for a more inclusive multilateral system.

Furthermore, officials in Kigali framed the incoming chairmanship as a platform to strengthen South–South cooperation.

They also aim to keep development at the center of UN negotiations.

The 2027 term will place Rwanda at the head of the largest coalition of developing countries.

Meanwhile, debates intensify over UN reform, climate finance, debt relief, and the architecture of international development.

Ministers said the test for the next chair is whether the group can stay united.

Moreover, those talks move from statements to bargains.

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