CUBA, in its capacity as President of the Group of 77 plus China, convened a Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Group under the theme “Current development challenges: Role of Science, Technology and Innovation,” on September 15 and 16, 2023, in Havana.

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, addressing the summit, reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to the United Nations Charter and International Law, which remain the pillars and guideposts of multilateralism and of the relations between States.
He said that they remain cognisant of the challenges faced by both people and the planet which must be overcome in order to assure peace, development and the fullest enjoyment of human rights, including the right to development.

“Having endured the ravages of COVID-19, we are confronted with ecological crises, an inequitable global economic and financial system and increasing geopolitical tensions. Indeed, at the midpoint of the 2030 agenda, we are seeing disquieting indicators,” he stated.
PM Phillips explained that more than 50 per cent of their targets are off track, along with a portion of which is in reverse and a $US4 trillion financing gap for the Sustainable Goals Development (SDG) implementation, which he said is double of what it was in 2015.

However, despite these challenges, he noted that the nations of the South have demonstrated resilience, ingenuity and solidarity.
“We must continue to advocate for the fulfillment of all outstanding international commitments, for a reformed global financial architecture, a fair and just energy transition, a climate resilient future and a truly democratic and inclusive international order,” he said.

PM Phillips related that Science, Technology and Innovation are crucial in addressing development challenges from food security, poverty alleviations, enabling energy security, accelerating economic transformation, to effectively responding to the existential climate crisis.
He said they must continue to press for meaningful technology transfer even as we work to strengthen indigenous Science, Technology and Innovation platforms and programmes.

Additionally, the Prime Minister said that efforts to close the digital divide and offset development challenges for countries of the South, must continue to be urgently pursued.
“The exploration of scientific and technological production and innovation could drive the sustainable development if employed strategically,” he said.
He added: “There is a need for greater international co-operation and support for local legislation frameworks to mitigate the ethical, legal and political considerations associated with artificial intelligence and cybersecurity concerns.”

Given this, he said Guyana welcomes the initiatives to resume and revitalise the work of the Consortium on Science, Technology and Innovation for the South (COSTIS).
“Guyana also notes, with appreciation, the United Nations Secretary General’s Initiative, announced in August of this year, to establish the new Scientific Advisory Board to inform member states of breakthroughs in science and technology as well as steps to harness the benefits of these advances and mitigate potential risks,” he said.

He related that Guyana is working to create the required enabling legislative and regulatory environment as well as the infrastructure to manage digitization, incorporating STEM and coding at the elemental levels of the school system, and especially among girls and laying the foundation for its first ‘smart’ city.
“The outcome document of this esteemed summit rightly acknowledges that the strategic deployment of technology and innovation has the potential to resolve and minimise trade-offs among the Goals, critical to scale up and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda,” he said.

PM Phillips further said that it was the time for them to leverage south-south, north-south and triangular cooperation for continuity, connectivity and digital inclusion among and within countries, reducing inequalities for a renewed impetus in the pursuit of resilient and sustainable development.
“In this context, the role of multi-stakeholder partnerships to foster strategic long-term investment in support to Science Technology and Innovation initiatives in developing countries including through innovative and blended finance, should not be underestimated,” he said.