India Takes Over G77+China Vienna Chapter Leadership from Kenya

Kenya has formally handed over the chairmanship of the G77 + China’s Vienna Chapter to India, bringing to a close its year-long stewardship of one of the Global South’s more technical but consequential diplomatic platforms. The handover was announced by Valerie Rugene, Kenya’s deputy head of mission in Austria, who presided over the ceremony marking the end of Kenya’s tenure under Ambassador Maurice Makoloo, recently redeployed to London as High Commissioner. “In a moment of nostalgia, I had the honour of stepping into the role of Chair of the G77 + China (Vienna Chapter) for the handover ceremony, concluding a chapter so ably led by the indomitable Amb. Makoloo Maurice,” Rugene wrote on Wednesday. Makoloo, who assumed the chair from Colombia, oversaw a tenure Kenya says was defined by “dedication, vision, and a deep commitment to advancing the collective interests of the Global South.” Under his watch, the Vienna Chapter navigated a period marked by widening fractures among developing countries, diverging industrial priorities, and increasingly politicised debates around technology transfer, energy security, and development financing. Kenya has now passed the baton to India, a country Rugene described as “a nation with which we share enduring bonds of friendship, solidarity, and the pursuit of inclusive development.” The G77 + China Vienna Chapter occupies a quieter corner of multilateral diplomacy, but one with outsized influence. Based in Vienna, it coordinates the positions of 134 developing countries across UN bodies such as the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), where debates over industrialisation, nuclear technology, and access to advanced capabilities increasingly reflect the geopolitical anxieties of the Global South. While China is not formally a member of the Group of 77, it remains an influential backer—both financially and politically, and lends the bloc additional weight even as its internal cohesion is tested by competing national interests and rival development models. India inherits a grouping that remains numerically powerful but strategically fragmented.