Abbas Thanks U.N. for Making ‘Palestine’ Presidency of Group of 77

Palestine Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is in New York to personally mark the historic holding of the presidency of the Group of 77 and China by ‘Palestine’ in the United Nations. The ceremony on Tuesday will see the transfer from Egypt of leadership of the bloc that was established in 1964 by 77 nations and has grown since to 134 states making it the largest bloc in the U.N. and the representatives of 80 per cent of the world’s population. As holders of the presidency, the Palestinians will negotiate development and economic issues as representatives of the entire group. Palestine holds non-member observer status, meaning it has no vote but is allowed to join U.N. member organizations. The position nevertheless is an immeasurable boost to the Palestinians’ status in the world community.