(VOVworld) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and General Assembly President John Ashe have urged G77 to work collectively to reach the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 deadline.

At a ceremony at UN Headquarters in which Fiji handed over the chairmanship of the group to Bolivia, Ban Ki-moon said the deadline is less than two years away and stronger actions are needed to achieve the targets. He said the world needs to define a unified development program for the post-2015 period and reach a global agreement in the fight against climate change. UN General Assembly President John Ashe stressed the importance of laying the groundwork for a post-2015 development agenda. He expressed his belief that G77 will fulfill its important role under Bolivian’s chairmanship.