South Africa has assumed the Chair of the Group of 77 (G77), the largest coalition of developing countries in the United Nations, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said on Friday.

South Africa will chair the G77 during the 70th anniversary of the United Nations at a crucial juncture in the global communities’ efforts to agree on the development priorities and goals needed to take the work of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) forward and to transform development beyond 2015, DIRCO said in a statement.

“During its term South Africa will be responsible for negotiating and speaking on behalf of two-thirds of the UN membership on key development issues,” DIRCO’s spokesperson Clayson Monyela said in the statement.

The G77 provides the means for the countries of the South to articulate and promote their collective economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic and development issues in the United Nations system.

It also promotes South-South cooperation and strengthen economic and technical co-operation among developing countries themselves.

Accepting the responsibility of Chairing the G77, DIRCO’s Deputy Minister Luwellyn Landers said South Africa “will spare no effort in continuing Bolivia’s legacy by ensuring that we collectively enhance the development agenda of the South,” the official said.