MINISTERIAL DECLARATION

1. The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the Group of 77 and China met on 24 September 2025, at the UN Headquarters in New York for the Forty-ninth Annual Ministerial Meeting, fully convinced of the imperative to continue to act in solidarity and unity for a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous world that responds to their aspiration, reaffirmed their commitment to the spirit and principles of the Group of 77 and China, and to the defence and promotion of their collective interests in genuine international cooperation for development and adopted the present ministerial declaration.

2. The Ministers reaffirmed full respect for the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law. They reaffirmed in this regard the need to respect the principles of equality among States, national sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of States, and non-interference in their internal affairs, and peaceful dispute settlement in order to maintain peace and security. They also reaffirmed the need to respect the right to self-determination of peoples living under colonial or foreign occupation and other forms of alien domination.

3. The Ministers recalled that eighty years ago, in the aftermath of a devastating war, nations adopted the UN Charter in San Francisco, establishing enduring purposes and principles. Amid current global crises, they reaffirmed full adherence to the Charter and international law, their commitment to multilateralism, and the pursuit of a just and equitable international economic order to eradicate poverty and improve living standards in the Global South. They further pledged to advance the UN's three interlinked pillars - peace and security, human rights and development - in a balanced manner, and called on all Member States to renew the multilateral spirit that gave birth to the Organization for the benefit of present and future generations.

4. The Ministers, having discussed the repercussions of the current geo-political tensions, reviewed the world economic situation, discussed the persistent and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the particular challenges faced by developing countries in the economic, social and environmental areas, were convinced that convening this forty-ninth Ministerial Meeting in an international context characterised by multidimensional crises and new challenges is an occasion for the Group to chart a new course on behalf of our people.

5. The Ministers recalled the outcome document adopted at the Third South Summit held in Kampala, Uganda from 21 to 22 January 2024 and reaffirmed their commitment for its full implementation.

6. The Ministers recalled the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Group of 77 on 15 June 1964 and recalled the ideals and principles contained in the historic Joint Declaration of the Seventy- Seven Developing Countries, signed at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), held in Geneva.
 
7. The Ministers recalled the first Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77, held in Algiers from 10 to 25 October 1964, at which the Group adopted the Charter of Algiers, which established the principles of unity, complementarity, cooperation and solidarity of the developing countries and their determination to strive for economic and social development, individually or collectively.

8. The Ministers underlined the critical role of the Group of 77 and China, which represents two thirds of the nations of the world and of all humanity, in providing the Global South with the means to articulate our shared vision, promote our interests and enhance our joint negotiating capacity within the United Nations system. They expressed satisfaction for the legacy and great achievements of the Group in defending and promoting the interests of the developing countries and in pursuing sustainable development and shared prosperity.

9. The Ministers stressed however, that despite the progress achieved, the imbalances in the global economy and the inequitable structures and outcomes in the trading, financial, monetary and technological systems that led to the establishment of the Group persist to this day; they underlined the continued relevance of their joint endeavour in advancing a just international order in the world economy and in championing multilateralism and respect for the UN Charter and international law.

10. The Ministers reaffirmed that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, remains the greatest global challenge and the overarching objective of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

11. The Ministers also reaffirmed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on the occasion of its 76th anniversary.

12. The Ministers reaffirmed that there can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development. They stressed the importance of building a culture of peace by strengthening multilateralism based on international law, developing friendly relations among nations, promoting peaceful settlement of disputes, and taking other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace and to ensure the fulfilment, promotion and protection of all human rights, including the right to development. They recognized that peace is not only the absence of conflict, but also requires a positive, dynamic participatory process where dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation.

13. The Ministers stressed that those purposes and principles inspire the full commitment to multilateralism and the search for a more just and equitable international economic system that offers opportunities to raise the standard of living of our peoples.

14. The Ministers welcomed the initiative of Brazil and South Africa to convene the outcome of G-20 Foreign Ministers' Meetings at the United Nations Headquarters in 2024 and 2025 open to all Member States. The Ministers further welcomed the initiative for a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. The Ministers highlighted the importance of joining global efforts to address the common challenges of food security and nutrition and social development. The Ministers reaffirmed the central role of the United Nations in leading discussions on global governance reforms and addressing the pressing challenges faced by the international community, which may be complemented by the G-20. They emphasized that the UN remains the most inclusive and legitimate forum for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and the reform of the international financial architecture.

15. The Ministers reaffirmed the central role of the United Nations in addressing global challenges and noted the Secretary-General's UN80 Initiative. They stressed that any proposals under this Initiative and its three workstreams must fully respect the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, as well as the intergovernmental nature of the Organization. They emphasized that the UN80 process must strengthen, not dilute, multilateralism, ensure equitable participation of all Member States, and address the priorities and concerns of developing countries. In this regard, the Ministers underscored that reforms under the three workstreams, across all three pillars of the United Nations should contribute to advancing Sustainable Development, enhance the voice and representation of developing countries, and be conducted through transparent, inclusive, and Member State-driven process. The Ministers therefore expressed their determination to engage actively and constructively in discussions on the UN80 initiative, as mandated by General Assembly resolution 79/318. while safeguarding the intergovernmental nature of the United Nations mandate creation and mandate review.

16. The Ministers further highlights the importance of making use of the opportunities which the UN80 Initiatives offers to support efforts to achieve equitable geographical distribution in particular for unrepresented and underrepresented Group members for post subject to the desirable ranges, and to use vacancies including due to retirements, and emphasizes that no abolishment or post reduction should harm the geographical representation of Group members.

17. The Ministers reiterated that poverty eradication in all its forms and dimensions is a central imperative of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and emphasized the need to address poverty in all its forms and dimensions in order to truly leave no one and no country behind, focused in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable. In this regard, they reaffirmed their commitment to work tirelessly for the full implementation of this Agenda by 2030 in a balanced and integrated manner to achieve sustainable development in its three dimensions and building on the achievements and lessons learned of the Millennium Development Goals and seeking to address their unfinished business. They emphasized that the international community must address the challenges and needs faced by developing countries, especially countries in special situations, in particular, African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States as well as specific challenges faced by many middle-income countries, conflict and post-conflict countries and countries and peoples living under foreign occupation.

18. The Ministers recognized the importance of promoting socioeconomic development in rural areas as an effective strategy at the global level for the eradication of poverty, including extreme poverty. They stressed that, in many developing countries, poverty is still overwhelmingly concentrated in rural areas, and in this regard, recognized the importance of considering in national plans and policies rural-focused poverty eradication strategies and measures, including increasing investments that bolsters productive capacities and structural transformation of rural economies, bridging the digital divide and improving access to basic services to reduce inequalities.

19. The Ministers recalled that the SDGs are integrated, indivisible and interlinked and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development-economic, social and environmental, and in this regard underlined that all SDGs should be treated equally when reviewed in inter-governmentally agreed outcomes.

20. The Ministers recalled that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reaffirms all the principles of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, in particular the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. They further reaffirmed that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda should be guided by the principles in accordance with its paragraph 74.

21. The Ministers remained concerned that, despite significant effort, the current pace and scope of implementation of the 2030 Agenda is still quite distant from achieving sustainable development for all, in particular for the poorest and most vulnerable.

22. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of achieving global food security and express deep concern over the level of hunger, malnutrition, food insecurity increasing the risk of famine around the world, especially in developing countries.

23. The Ministers recalled the UN General Assembly resolution 76/264 of 27 May 2022, entitled "State of Global Food Insecurity", and reiterated its call upon the international community to urgently support countries affected by the food security crisis through coordinated actions, including the provision of emergency food supplies, food programmes, financial support, and increased and diversified agricultural production, consistent with WTO rules, and to promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory, fair, transparent, predictable, inclusive and equitable multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core. The resolution also called upon the international financial institutions to find urgent, affordable and timely solutions to support developing countries, in particular those highly indebted, in responding to the food security crisis and achieving SDG 2, through, but not limited to, facilitating, as appropriate, access to debt relief, concessional finance and grants.

24. The Ministers agreed that sustainable development requires enhanced access to information, markets and finance as well as capacity building, affordable digital solutions and non-discriminatory trade facilitation, stable and well-functioning industrial and supply chains. They highlighted the need for the developing countries to become part of global value chains, ensure support to MSME sectors in respective countries, as well as ensuring food security and enhancing trade facilitation.

25. The Ministers reiterated their call for enhanced cooperation in such areas as food production, storage, transport, processing, and food loss and waste reduction, and improve food security, nutrition and food self-sufficiency of developing countries, especially the least developed countries.

26. The Ministers called for an equal multipolar world that enables developing countries to play a greater role in global governance and in upholding multilateralism with the UN at the center. They supported a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. They stressed that development should be inclusive and provide benefits for all, and reaffirmed the importance of respecting the development paths independently chosen by different countries, respecting the right of all countries to equal participation in international affairs and to development, the need to address development concerns of developing countries with concrete actions, and reduce inequality among and within countries, leaving no country and no person behind.

27. The Ministers reiterated the continued unwavering commitment of the Group of 77 and China to further translating ambitions set out in the 2030 Agenda into real action. They stressed that implementing the 2030 Agenda at all levels requires provision and mobilisation of adequate means of implementation, and a revitalized global partnership, which puts development front and center in accordance with SDG 17. They also stressed in this regard the urgent need to foster balanced, inclusive and equal global development partnership and emphasize that further support is needed from developed countries especially regarding the transfer of technology, capacity building and financing to developing countries.

28. The Ministers expressed deep concern about the significant impacts of the current challenging global environment on national efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda, including not only economic factors but also disasters, natural and man-made hazards, climate change, bidoversity loss and pollution, sea level rise, melting glaciers, environmental degradation, humanitarian crises and conflicts. The Ministers stressed the need for concrete and immediate action to create the necessary enabling environment at all levels for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

29. The Ministers emphasized once again the urgent need for a strengthened and renewed global partnership for development, based on the recognition that national leadership and ownership of development strategies should be a guiding principle of all UN activities including those at the country level. The entire UN system as well as the Bretton Woods Institutions and bilateral donors should align their cooperation programmes with the national development strategies with a view to making the optimum contribution to the realization of national development strategies.

30. The Ministers underlined the importance of comprehensive follow-up and review at the global level, as well as the regional level as appropriate, in order to assess progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, ensuring that its overall objectives of poverty eradication in all its forms and dimensions and achieving sustainable development are duly attained. In this regard, they recalled General Assembly resolution 70/299 of 29 July 2016 on the Follow-up and Review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the Global Level which underscores the shared vision and aspiration of all States members of the United Nations and States members of the specialized agencies for the crucial path set forth to assess progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. They reiterated and reaffirmed that the implementation and the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda must include and address the severe difficulties faced by countries and peoples living under colonial and foreign occupation and strive to remove the obstacles to the full realization of their right to self-determination and right to development, which adversely affect their economic and social development, as well as their environment and their ability to achieve the sustainable development goals, and ensure that they will not be left behind.

31. The Ministers recalled the reaffirmation by the 2030 Agenda of the need to respect the territorial integrity and political independence of States.

32. The Ministers reaffirmed that the imposition of coercive economic measures, including unilateral sanctions, against developing countries does not contribute to economic and social development, including dialogue, cooperation and understanding among countries.

33. The Ministers reiterated the commitment to devote collectively to the pursuit of global development and "win-win" cooperation on the basis of extensive consultations, joint contributions and shared benefits, which can bring huge gains to all countries and all parts of the world in building a community of shared future for humankind.

34. The Ministers recognized the important role of connectivity in promoting policy synergies, trade facilitation, infrastructure connectivity, financial cooperation and people-to-people exchange at the subregional, regional and global levels, which are some key areas in achieving sustainable development.

35. The Ministers recognized the global scenario has changed dramatically since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda. The gap between developed and developing countries has continued to widen over these last years and even deepened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the consequent deterioration of the well-being of our populations. In this regard, the Ministers took note of the South-South initiatives that are aimed at bridging the development gap and in accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and achievement of its SDGs.

36. The Ministers stressed that investment in sustainable, resilient, reliable and quality infrastructure is critical for an inclusive and equitable COVID-19 recovery and for acceleration towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The investment gap for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda is growing and investment in quality infrastructure in developing countries declined. They called for scaling up public financing to catalyse private investments in sustainable, reliable, quality and resilient infrastructure that will help to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its Goals, the Sevilla Commitment, building on the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda, UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework and the New Urban Agenda.

37. The Ministers reiterated their call to all relevant stakeholders, building on existing mechanisms and facilities, to place a focus on diagnostics for infrastructure needs and help identify and address gaps and financing requirements, especially in developing countries, and to create an enabling environment that takes into account resilience, adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. They recognized the importance of the full utilization of the United Nations development system, the World Bank other multilateral institutions in addressing the capacity and funding gaps and building a pipeline of bankable, sustainable quality, resilient infrastructure projects. They agreed to explore innovative platform approaches to coordinate, scale up and channel public and private finance and technical assistance for quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure development.

38. The Ministers recalled the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development 2021 and recognized the important role of creative economy, known as "orange economy" in a number of countries, as a driver for inclusive and sustainable development growth that may assist developing countries in achieving SDGs and, in this regard, reaffirmed the importance to create enabling environment for the promotion of creative economy, among others by encouraging creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, supporting the development of cultural institutions and cultural industries, providing technical and vocational training for culture professionals and increasing employment opportunities in the cultural and creative sector. In this regard, the Ministers took note of the report submitted to the UN General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session on the implementation of the resolution entitled International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development 2021.

39. The Ministers recalled the International Year of Millets 2023 and recognized the important contribution of millets to the cultivation of nutritious foods in climate-adverse environments and reiterated the urgent need to raise awareness of the climate-resilient and nutritional benefits of millets and to advocate for diversified, balanced and healthy diets through the increased sustainable production and consumption of millets, noting the importance of sustainable farming and production practices to the livelihoods of millions of rural farm families and small family farmers
around the world.

40. The Ministers underlined that the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028), aims to raise the profile of the role of family farming in contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to the achievement of food security and improved nutrition.

41. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen international environmental governance in line with paragraph 88 of the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, entitled "The future we want" in order to promote a balanced integration of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, as well as coordination within the United Nations system, and recognized the importance of the outcome of the special session to commemorate UNEP@50 held in Nairobi on 3 and 4 March 2022.

42. The Ministers reiterated that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sevilla Commitment, building on the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Paris Agreement adopted under the UNFCCC, the New Urban Agenda and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, as well as major outcome documents in relation to countries in special situations, shall be implemented in their totality, and the integrity of the commitments enshrined in them shall be honored, in line with the principles of multilateralism and international cooperation.

43. The Ministers stressed the critical importance of multilateral and international cooperation as relevant tools to tackle humanity's challenges and reaffirmed their full support to the strengthening of the multilateral system, particularly of the UN system. They also stressed the need to increase the representation and voice of developing countries in international affairs, institutions and mechanisms. They also stressed the need to prioritize just and equitable global governance; and give preference to addressing the concerns of the Global South, with developed countries also fulfilling their responsibilities and commitments.

44. The Ministers highlighted the values, achievements and multilateral spirit of the United Nations. More importantly, they stressed that the international community needs to recognize the UN's pivotal importance in supporting countries to tackle present and future problems and challenges facing humankind, and arriving at their solutions within an overarching framework agreed to multilaterally, in a democratic and equitable way, and inspired by common interests and aspirations of "we the peoples of the United Nations" who need to work, cooperate and exist together in harmony, solidarity and peace.

45. The Ministers reaffirmed the universality of the 2030 Agenda and its comprehensive, far-reaching, people-centred and transformative set of Sustainable Development Goals and targets, guided by the principle of leaving no one and no country behind.

46. The Ministers noted with concern that only 17 percent of the Sustainable Development Goals targets are on track to be achieved and with only 5 years to 2030, it is evident that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development in many developing countries is lagging behind, which increasingly threatens the international community's collective commitment to leave no one or country behind.

47. The Ministers emphasized that the international community must prioritize advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda by translating the commitments agreed upon during the 2023 SDG Summit Political Declaration into concrete actions that fully support developing countries in their efforts to achieve the SDGs. They called for strengthened international cooperation, increased financing for development, multilateralism, and international solidarity at all levels as the best way to address the global challenges that developing countries are facing and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 agenda. They stressed the need to uphold the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in the pursuit to achieve sustainable development.

48. The Ministers stressed the importance of providing and mobilizing adequate means of implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They called upon developed countries to fulfil their previous commitments and agree to a new phase of international cooperation through a strengthened and scaled-up global partnership for development.

49. The Ministers also acknowledged the need for new development paradigms and pathways chosen by developing countries that prioritise sustainable development and resilient, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth, including by bridging the digital divide, and supporting the development of quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure in the Global South.

50. The Ministers emphasized that achieving the SDGs requires new, additional, quality, adequate, sustainable, and predictable financing. In this context, they welcomed the convening of the Fourth International Conference for Financing for Development held in Spain from 30 June to 3 July 2025, and its outcome document, "The Sevilla Commitment" and called for its timely and effective implementation, which is critical for the realization of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and its SDGs and their targets.

51. The Ministers welcomed the Ministerial Declaration adopted by the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) convened under the auspices of ECOSOC held from 14 to 24 July 2025 and urged for timely action to ensure its full implementation.

52. The Ministers underlined that the HLPF is not a forum to rewrite and rescript the 2030 Agenda nor its SDGs.

53. The Ministers commended all the countries that presented voluntary national reviews to highlight the steps taken to implement the 2030 Agenda at the 2024 HLPF, convened under the auspices of ECOSOC. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of voluntary national reviews as a mean to facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, with a view to accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

54. The Ministers expressed their solidarity with all countries in their efforts to tackle the multidimensional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and recognised the contribution of those working to support the prevention, detection and reporting of COVID-19. They stressed the need to address the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery process through a global response based on unity, solidarity and renewed multilateral and international cooperation among States, peoples and generations that enhances the ability and resolve of States and other relevant stakeholders to fully implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

55. The Ministers stressed that countries around the world continue to grapple with multiple crises and challenges, including COVID-19, climate change and current geopolitical tensions which have created additional challenges on eradication of poverty, food security, energy security, cost of living (inflation), and access to concessional financing, undermined the achievement of the SDGs, disproportionately impacted the recovery efforts particularly of developing countries and reversed development gains of at least a decade. In this regard, they reaffirmed their commitment to take urgent actions needed for coordinated and comprehensive multilateral response to the developmental challenges and the need to support the national efforts of developing countries to build resilience against future shocks.

56. The Ministers reaffirmed the need to ensure that developing countries have the necessary fiscal space for recovery and achieving the SDGs, noted with deep concern the increasing financing gap and underlined that bridging this gap is essential to move towards recovery. This would require, amongst other measures, debt treatment, especially for countries in, or facing the threat of debt distress enhanced financing mechanisms, including innovative financing, fulfillment of ODA commitments including providing the equivalent of 0.7 of developed countries GNI and ODA and announcement of new ODA commitments, access to concessional finance by all developing countries, as well as larger greater FDI. In this regard, they reaffirmed the essential need to channel unutilized quotas of existing and newly allocated SDRs from developed countries with strong external positions to the developing countries most in need of liquidity and regional development banks. The Ministers took note of the G20 commitment to step up efforts to implement adequate mechanisms such as the Common Framework in a timely, orderly and coordinated manner.

57. The Ministers committed to achieving a speedy, inclusive, sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and building a better future, as well as pandemic preparedness and the prevention and detection of and response to any future outbreak, putting people at the center of the response.

58. The Ministers reiterated their call on the international community and all relevant stakeholders to scale up cooperation and resource mobilization to support developing countries in their efforts to mitigate the persistent and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us a very important lesson in strengthening the global health architecture. The Ministers welcomed the decisions made by the 77th World Health Assembly on the agreed package of the Amendments to the International Health Regulations 2005 and welcome the adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement in the 78th World health assembly to strengthen countries' capacities in pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. and expressed their willingness to engage constructively in the negotiation of the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) instrument, in accordance with Article 12 of the Agreement.

59. The Ministers stressed the need for global solidarity and multilateral cooperation to increase vaccines production and distribution, on regional and global levels. They continued to oppose vaccine nationalism and reject any vaccine divide, or any attempt to politicize vaccine cooperation, and recognized the need to ensure non-discrimination and equity for all, given limited global access and inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The Ministers also called on the international community to address misinformation, counter vaccine hesitancy, and launch public information campaigns to raise people's awareness on the importance and safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

60. The Ministers emphasized that digital cooperation can contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and, in this regard, were committed to achieve universal and meaningful digital connectivity, which is important for developing countries to bridge the digital divides. They also recognized that UN can play a key role in enhancing digital cooperation by enhancing greater organizational and human capacity on digital issues and improving its ability to respond to Member States' need for technology transfer and capacity building and in this regard took note of multilateral and regional initiatives targeted towards this goal, and recalled the establishment of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO).

61. The Ministers reaffirmed that important issues pertaining to digital cooperation remain, inter alia: equitable, inclusive and fair digital economy, including the creation of capacities for MSMEs and local innovation ecosystems, digital capacity building, access to digital networks and digital era connectivity, technology transfer, investment in digital infrastructures, data protection including protection of privacy and personal data, use of emerging technologies based on ethical and responsible principles and protecting human rights, artificial intelligence, digital literacy, combatting the use of information technology for criminal purposes, avoiding Internet fragmentation, countering the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation, fostering e-learning and outlining shared principles for a digital future for all to achieve the 2030 Agenda. In this regard, the Ministers took note of the report of the Secretary-General entitled "Road map for digital cooperation".

62. The Minister highlighted that fair, inclusive and equitable governance of data is critical to enable developing countries to harness the benefits of the digital economy and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. The Ministers called for the design of a fair and equitable global framework for data governance, including cross-border data flows, to address the principles of collection, storage, use and transfer of data; ensure the interoperability of data policy frameworks at all levels; and distribute the monetary and non-monetary benefits of data with developing countries.

63. The Ministers welcomed the General Assembly Resolution A/RES /78/311 entitled "Enhancing international cooperation on capacity-building of artificial intelligence" and called upon the international community to foster an open, inclusive, fair, transparent, equitable and non-discriminatory environment for inclusive development for all and cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence. They encouraged the international community, in particular developed countries, to increase capital and other forms of investment and long-term financial support in the field of capacity-building of AI through cooperation with relevant national initiatives to support developing countries. They emphasized that the meaningful participation of developing countries in the process of global governance of AI, decision making and norm setting, with the United Nations at its center, is fundamentally important to enhance international cooperation on capacity-building.

64. The Ministers welcomed the recent establishment, within the United Nations, of the multidisciplinary Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence with balanced geographic representation to promote scientific understanding and of the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance, as a platform to discuss international cooperation, share best practices and lessons learned, and to facilitate open, transparent and inclusive discussions on artificial intelligence governance with a view to enabling artificial intelligence to contribute to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and to closing the digital divides between and within countries. The Ministers also encouraged further efforts to ensure a safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems.

65. The Ministers recognized that technology can enable rapid transformations for bridging the existing digital divides and accelerate progress for inclusive and sustainable development, and, to this end, agree on the need to increase investment in digital public infrastructure which can be built and leveraged by both the public and private sectors, based on sustainable and resilient infrastructure and can be built on open standards and specifications, as well as open-source software to enable delivery of services at societal-scale.

66. In the voluntary efforts to make digital public infrastructure interoperable, the Ministers recognized the importance of data free flow while respecting applicable legal frameworks to make digital public infrastructure interoperable. They also reaffirmed the linkage between data and development.

67. The Ministers emphasized that digital public goods, which include open-source software, platforms, data, AI models, standards and content that can be freely used and adapted, empower societies and individuals to direct digital technologies to their development needs and are enablers of public and private investment, digital cooperation and can support the development of digital public infrastructure. They highlighted the urgent need to take proper measures to protect digital public goods from unfair practices and monopolies.

68. The Ministers encouraged the entities of the United Nations development system, within their respective mandates, to support programme countries, upon request and in line with national priorities, needs and plans, to harness digital technologies to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and to close all digital divides by, inter alia, promoting universal, affordable and meaningful connectivity, scaling up digital capacity development, supporting resilient, safe, inclusive and interoperable digital public infrastructure, promoting digital public goods and information integrity and harnessing artificial intelligence, for sustainable development, while considering relevant commitments in the Global Digital Compact and recognizing the need to scale up international cooperation and financing for digital capacity development and promoting digital readiness, particularly in developing countries.

69. The Ministers welcome the ongoing efforts to implement the commitments of the Global Digital Compact, within countries and at regional and global levels, taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development, and respecting national policies and priorities and applicable legal frameworks. The Ministers reiterated the need for a close correspondence of the world summit on information society, including its general review and the Global Digital Compact (GDC).

70. The Ministers recognized that the rapidly evolving technological landscape, such as artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing, and quantum computing, highlighted by the designation of 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, offers immense potential to advance sustainable development. Yet, these emerging technologies may also pose new challenges for developing countries, including in widening inequality, reinforcing structural dependencies, and eroding public policy space.

71. The Ministers further reiterated the need to uphold the principles of digital sovereignty, equity, and the right to development in the digital era. The WSIS+20 review must reflect the diverse realities of developing countries and ensure that digital transformation serves inclusive and people-centered development.

72. While the progress of the global digital economy opens opportunities for better integrating into the global value chains, the Ministers also recalled the asymmetries in the distribution of the benefits from the expansion of digital economy. In this context, they stressed the importance of competition, tax and technology transfer rules that are beneficial for developing countries including the least-developed countries to advance their digital industrialization.

73. The Ministers stressed that financing for development is key driver in accelerating the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They highlighted the importance of assessing progress, identifying obstacles and challenges to the implementation of the outcomes of the international conferences on financing for development, addressing new and emerging topics of relevance to the implementation of the Sevilla Commitment as the need arises, and providing policy recommendations for action by the international community, regarding the support of developed countries for developing countries.

74. The Ministers reiterated their call on the United Nations system, in consultation with the international financial institutions, to develop transparent measurements of progress on sustainable development that go beyond per capita income, building on existing initiatives as appropriate. These should recognize the multidimensional nature of poverty and the social, economic and environmental dimensions of domestic output and structural gaps at all levels. In this regard, we underscore the importance of achieving concrete progress in this issue.

75. The Ministers welcomed the work of the High-level Panel on the Development of a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index for Small Islands Developing States, and the adoption of General Assembly resolution 78/322, which decided to advance the multidimensional vulnerability index. In this regard, they called for the full and effective implementation of its mandates, including the appointment of members of the Independent Expert Advisory Panel and the relevant existing United Nations entity, which will act as the secretariat of the multidimensional vulnerability index.

76. The Ministers emphasized that the outcome of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, endorsed by the General Assembly on 25 August 2025, builds on the outcomes of the previous conferences. Therefore, all commitments agreed in the previous conferences should be retained. The Ministers stressed that the respect and fulfilling the previous commitments by the international community is fundamental in supporting developing countries to accelerate their actions to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve the SDGs between now and 2030.

77. The Ministers considered that Conference as an important step toward reinvigorating the global partnership for development. The Ministers expressed their support to the Sevilla Commitment as a balanced, constructive and forward-looking framework that reflects the collective aspiration to scale up efforts in mobilizing financing for sustainable development, particularly for developing countries.

78. The Ministers reaffirmed the urgent need for the following actions:

a) Reform of the international financial architecture, including international financial institutions and multilateral development banks governance reform, especially of IMF and the World Bank, to broaden and strengthen the voice, and participation and representation of developing countries in international economic decision making, norm setting and global economic governance.
b) Promote access to concessional finance by all developing countries, in particular African countries, LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS, and MICs.
c) Improved global sovereign debt architecture, with the meaningful participation of all developing countries.
d) Elimination of the surcharge policy by the IMF.
e) Call IMF to issue a new general allocation of SDRs.
f) Voluntary rechanneling of unutilized Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to developing countries as well as the new allocation of the SDRs.
g) Scaling up debt swaps for SDGs, including debt swaps for climate and nature to allow developing countries to use debt service payments for investments in sustainable development and taking multilateral measures to standardize the use of these mechanisms.
h) Fulfilment of existing commitments, including ODA by developed countries as well as announcement of new commitments.
i) Support the rules based multilateral trading system, including through the fulfilment of long-standing pending negotiating issues, such as comprehensive agricultural trade reform, and working toward the necessary WTO reform, strengthening the special and differential treatment for developing countries as a multilateral principle and ensuring transfer of technology to deliver on sustainable development.
j) Eliminating immediately all laws and regulations with extraterritorial impact and all other forms of coercive economic measures, including unilateral sanctions, against developing countries. The Ministers emphasized that such actions not only undermine the principles enshrined in the Charter of the UN and international law but also severely threaten the freedom of trade and investment.
k) Support to structural transformation and to enhance productive capacities for building diversified, resilient, and sustainable economies that can generate decent and productive employment.
l) Investments in areas such as infrastructure, innovation, technology, and skills development, as well as support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
m) Preventing and combating the illicit financial flows that drain resources from developing countries.
n) Enhancing international cooperation on tax matters to make it inclusive and effective, including through constructively engaging in negotiations on the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation.
o) Advancing in the establishment of the set of measures of progress on sustainable development that complement or go beyond gross domestic product to inform access to concessional finance and technical cooperation for developing countries through a UN-led intergovernmental process in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, which will also require increased investment in national statistical systems, in data collection, and in capacity building for national statistical agencies.
p) Scaled up investments in digital infrastructure, connectivity, education, skills-training and capacity-building to ensure that developing countries can take better advantage of the digital economy and digitalization.
q) Promotion and facilitation of investment in developing countries, including though increasing Foreign Direct Investment flows to developing countries, and supporting capacity building for developing countries in order to benefit from opportunities in international investment agreements.

79. The Ministers recalled the convening, on 15 and 16 of December 2022, of the G77 Ministerial Conference under the theme "Achieving the SDGs: Addressing Present Challenges and Building Resilience Against Future Crises" on the occasion of Pakistan's 2022 Chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China.

80. The Ministers reiterated their invitation to the international community and all relevant stakeholders, without prejudice to ongoing support, to cooperate and mobilize resources and expertise, including through financial and in-kind assistance, as well as direct aid to host countries, refugee populations and countries of origin of refugees, with a view to enhancing the capacity of and reducing the heavy burden borne by countries and communities hosting refugees and displaced persons in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, while fully respecting the humanitarian principles of humanity, independence, neutrality and impartiality for humanitarian action.

81. The Ministers underscored the need to provide fiscally sustainable and nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, well designed, efficiently operated, responsive to shocks and sustainable in the long term, stressing that investing in quality, accessible, affordable, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including transport, energy, water and sanitation for all, is vital to the achievement of many of our goals. In this regard, the Ministers recalled the second United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference and its documents, including Beijing Statement, held in Beijing, China, from 14 to 16 October 2021, which aimed at achieving sustainable transport.

82. The Ministers reaffirmed that Official Development Assistance (ODA) remains the main channel for international cooperation and stressed its paramount importance in supporting the sustainable development needs of developing countries, in particular countries in special situations and those facing specific challenges.

83. The Ministers noted with concern that target for developed countries to provide 0.7% of their GNI in ODA has not been met once since its formal approval more than 50 years ago. They urged developed countries to fulfil their unmet ODA commitments to developing countries, in keeping with their previous undertakings, and to scale up those efforts to play a meaningful role in eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, and to increase their flows of ODA to 0.7 percent of GNI to developing countries and 0.15-0.20 per cent of GNI to LDCs, as called for in target 17.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals. They noted that donor countries have shifted more ODA resources to funds for hosting and processing refugees within donor countries themselves in recent years. This shift in ODA resources towards humanitarian and crisis situations is not consistent with long-term and sustainable approach to financing development needed to achieve 2030 Agenda targets. They reaffirmed that ODA should be aligned with national priorities and development strategies of the recipient countries. The Ministers remained concerned by the failure to increase ODA to the developing countries, as well as the declining trend in the share of country programmable aid in ODA.

84. The Ministers further expressed concern at the recent reductions in ODA announced by several major donors, with projections indicating an overall decline of between 9 and 17 per cent in 2025 further to the decline in 2024, which risks reversing hard-won development gains. They called on developed countries to urgently reverse these cuts and ensure that ODA is preserved as a predictable and dedicated source of development financing.

85. The Ministers emphasized the need for grant finance and highly concessional finance for least developed countries, and the need to consider grant finance and highly concessional finance for other vulnerable countries, such as landlocked developing countries and small island developing States. They acknowledged that ODA and other concessional finance are still important for a number of middle-income countries.

86. The Ministers reiterated that international development cooperation, especially North-South cooperation, remains a fundamental catalyst to sustainable development. As North-South cooperation is the main channel of development financing, the international community must uphold the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" (CBDR) and push North-South cooperation to continue to play its key role. Developed countries should bear the primary responsibility in financing for development.

87. The Ministers reiterated their position that South-South cooperation is an important element of international cooperation for development as a complement, not a substitute for, North-South cooperation and reaffirmed that South-South cooperation should be seen as an expression of solidarity among peoples and countries of the South, based on their shared experiences and objectives. The Ministers emphasized that South-South cooperation deserves its own separate and independent promotion, as reaffirmed in the Nairobi 2009 outcome document and the Buenos Aires 2019 outcome document. In this context, the Ministers stressed that South-South cooperation and its agenda must be driven by the countries of the South and should continue to be guided by principles of respect for national sovereignty, national ownership and independence, equality, non-conditionality, non-interference in domestic affairs and mutual benefit.

88. The Ministers recalled the leader´s Political Declaration adopted at the G77 and China Summit on "Current development challenges: The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation", held in Havana, Cuba, from 15-16 September 2023, which highlights positions of the Group on these issues. The Ministers expressed their appreciation to the government and the people of Cuba for the hospitality shown during the Summit, as well as for the preparation, organization and hosting of this important event.

89. The Ministers further recognize the significant contribution of South-South cooperation in the areas of trade and investment and its ability to promote sustainable development among developing countries. In this regard, they reaffirmed the importance of strengthening South-South trade cooperation arrangements, including preferential trade and investment arrangements and the Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries. In this connection, the relevant United Nations organizations, including UNCTAD, must continue to support developing countries in deepening and enlarging South-South trade integration, regional, sub-regional and interregional economic integration and cooperation arrangements.

90. The Ministers also underlined the need to strengthen South-South and triangular cooperation on access to science, technology and innovation by creating synergies, developing joint research and venture programs in areas like food security and nutrition, pandemic prevention and vaccines and artificial intelligence, among others, as well as boosting resources for scientific and research institutions of the South.

91. The Ministers underlined the launching of the Manual for the Framework to Measure South-South Cooperation: Technical and Procedural Aspects for Pilot Testing as a major milestone to support voluntary testing of the agreed framework to measure South-South cooperation.The Ministers also reiterated the request for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in its role as co-custodian, to strengthen capacity-building and support to developing countries, provide technical guidance, data collection tools and reporting systems for applying the initial voluntary framework, as well as the recommendation that the United Nations development system support the efforts of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in raising awareness and developing the capacity of national statistical offices and cooperation agencies to use this framework.

92. The Ministers recalled the convening of the Second UN High-level Conference on South-South Cooperation in Buenos Aires from 20 to 22 March 2019, and reiterated their commitment to the full and effective implementation of BAPA+40 outcome document, building on the Buenos Aires Plan of Action and the Nairobi outcome document, especially in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires unwavering solidarity and international cooperation more than ever. The Ministers also reaffirmed their support for the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation, and recalled decisions 22/1 and 22/2 adopted during its twenty-second session, held from 27 to 30 May 2025.

93. The Ministers reiterated their strong support to the mandate of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and stressed that the Office is the articulator of South-South cooperation in the United Nations system. They appreciated the countries of the South who have stepped up their cooperation with UNOSSC. In this context, the Ministers reiterated their call on the UNOSSC to strengthen its support to South-South cooperation projects.

94. The Ministers took note of the handbook on integrating South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation in the voluntary national reviews elaborated by the UN Office for South-South Cooperation in cooperation with the co-chairs of the Group of Friends of the voluntary national reviews, Morocco and the Philippines.

95. The Ministers reiterated their invitation to the Member States to come forward with an offer to host the thirteenth session of the Intergovernmental Follow-up and Coordination Committee on South-South Cooperation (IFCC-XIII) in 2026. They also reiterated their invitation to the Member States to host regularly high-level meetings of the Group on key issues of interest to the South, as well as sectoral meetings in various fields of cooperation including South-South forums for parliamentarians, mayors, youth, media and civil society and other thematic meetings as envisaged in the Doha Plan of Action adopted by the Second South Summit held in Doha, Qatar, from 12 to 16 June 2005, and look forward to the continued support of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation in this regard.

96. The Ministers noted that the year 2023 marked the fortieth anniversary of the establishment of the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund for South-South Cooperation (PGTF). They noted that its impact has been widespread by financially supporting some 400 cooperative projects, carried out by national, regional and international institutions of the South, which directly benefitted 141 Member States and collectively all of them. The Ministers recommended that the PGTF duly take into account in its work the recommendations of the STI Havana Summit also commended the work of its committee of experts and made a special appeal to Member States to expand the resources of PGTF through increased voluntary contributions, aimed at preserving and enhancing the response capacity of the PGTF to the growing and pressing demands for support of South-South cooperation activities.

97. The ministers welcomed innovations that enhance and expand South-South and triangular cooperation, and in this regard recognized the importance of reinforcing partnership-building, including engaging with partners in national and local governments, civil society, academia and the private sector, and of resource mobilization, including contributions to the United Nations Fund for South-South Cooperation, third-party cost-sharing, parallel financing, in-kind contributions and special fund management arrangements

98. The Ministers recalled the Ministerial Meeting on South-South Cooperation that took place on 7 March 2023 in Doha, Qatar, on the margins of the second part of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries. They reiterated their support for the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA) within the framework of South-South Cooperation.

99. The Ministers recalled further the Ministerial Meeting on South-South Cooperation that took place on 7 August 2025 in Awaza, Turkmenistan, on the margins of the Third United Nations Conference on the Landlocked Developing Countries. They reiterated their support for the implementation of the Awaza Programme of Action within the framework of South-South Cooperation

100. The Ministers reaffirmed that international cooperation among developing countries, in addition to North-South cooperation, is an effective instrument for optimizing developing countries' capacities and potential to promote development through sharing of knowledge, technical advances, skills and expertise across a broad range of sectors in our countries. They expressed the urgent need to promote further initiatives on regional and sub-regional cooperation to enhance economic development. In this regard, it is important to increase interregional cooperation and integration in the six areas of action of the DPoA by providing technical cooperation and capacity building to developing countries.

101. The Ministers noted the various experiences and home-grown approaches to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and reiterated the importance of learning and sharing of best practices including through North-South, South-South and Triangular Cooperation including, among others, through the Global South-South Development Expo, Thailand's initiative on "Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) for SDGs Partnerships", as well as the importance of concrete collaboration between Member States and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, including the South-South-in-Action series on Thailand's application of the SEP, Bangladesh's citizen-friendly public service innovation, Cuba's best practices in health, education, climate change and disaster reduction, and agriculture sectors, UAE's best practices through the Global South-South Development Expo, the launch of the francophone network of actors for South-South and tripartite cooperation in Morocco on 18 July 2018, and China's training seminar on South-South Cooperation and the Global Development Initiative, and Brazil's Centers for Vocational Training, Pakistan Technical Assistance Programme(PTAP), India's Indian Technical and Economoc Cooperation(ITEC) Programme. They also noted other experiences that enhance South-South Cooperation, inter alia, PETROCARIBE by Venezuela, and the Singapore Cooperation Programme by Singapore.

102. The Ministers recognized the important role of the South Centre as think tank of the countries of the South and emphasized its importance in enhancing South-South Cooperation through promoting solidarity and mutual understanding among the countries and peoples of the South, as well as providing the intellectual and policy support required by developing countries for collective and individual action in the international arena.

103. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of triangular cooperation, and acknowledged that triangular cooperation is aimed at facilitating, supporting and enhancing South-South initiatives, through the provision of, inter-alia, funding, capacity-building, technology transfer as well as other forms of support, at the request of developing countries, in line with the principles of South-South cooperation, and must be led by the countries of the South.

104. The Ministers underlined that while developing countries seek to maximize their domestic public resources in order to achieve 2030 Agenda, through broadening the tax base, there is a need to continue addressing the international dimension of taxation. Furthermore, ODA in support of domestic resource mobilization remains low. In this regard, the Ministers reiterated their call on the developed countries to continue to increase their contributions to revenue mobilization capacity building of the developing countries.

105. The Ministers reiterated the need to strengthen international cooperation on tax matters. They also noted the work of Committee of Experts in Tax Matters. The Ministers stressed that the most relevant issues are the challenges posed by the lack of international tax cooperation, the existing illicit financial flows and tax evasion. They further reiterated that appropriate emphasis must be placed on an enabling global environment and global partnership for development, balanced against the increased emphasis being placed on domestic resource mobilization. In this regard, they underlined that it is counterproductive to highlight the importance of domestic resource mobilization in developing countries, while at the same time not robustly tackle areas that impede their ability to capture necessary resources.

106. The Ministers emphasized that promoting inclusive and effective international tax cooperation remains a critical prerequisite to the achievement of the SDGs, since it enables developing countries to effectively mobilize their domestic resources. It is clear that current international tax governance structures need considerable improvements.

107. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of promoting progressivity and efficiency across fiscal systems to address inequality and increase revenue. They also reiterated the need to promote progressive tax systems in countries, where applicable, enhance efforts to address tax evasion and avoidance by high-net-worth individuals and ensure their effective taxation, supported by international cooperation, while respecting national sovereignty, as well as to promote effective and equitable government spending.

108. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the Intergovernmental Negotiations Committee and the
substantive discussions initiated on the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation and its two early Protocols. The Ministers reiterated the importance of providing the INC with the necessary facilities and resources, including a technical secretariat, to support its work. The Ministers called upon all Member States to engage constructively in an inclusive and effective negotiating process, aimed at strengthening international tax cooperation, ensuring fair and equitable allocation of taxing rights, and supporting the sustainable development efforts of developing countries.

109. The Ministers noted with appreciation that, in response to the call of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Republic of India was the first developing country to make a voluntary contribution to the Trust Fund for International Cooperation in Tax Matters, and that the Republic of Singapore has similarly done so, and reiterated their appeal to Member States, relevant organizations and other potential donors to consider contributing generously to the Trust Fund for International Cooperation in Tax Matters established by the Secretary-General in order to supplement regular budgetary resources, and reiterate the invitation to the Secretary-General to intensify efforts to that end.

110. The Ministers noted with concern the steady increase in the illicit flow of funds, particularly from developing countries, and the negative impact it poses with respect to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, the rule of law and the security of nations. The Ministers recognized that States continue to face challenges in the identification, freezing, confiscation, recovery and return of stolen assets owing to, inter alia, differences in legal systems, the complexity of multi-jurisdictional investigation and prosecution, divergent interpretations of the provisions of the Convention and relevant legal instruments, lack of familiarity with the mutual legal assistance procedures of other States parties and difficulties in identifying and exposing the flow of the proceeds of corruption and illicit financial flows. The Ministers expressed concern that a large proportion of the proceeds of corruption, including those emanating from transnational bribery-related cases, have yet to be returned to the countries of origin. The Ministers emphasized the importance of strengthening good practices on assets return, and strengthening international coordination of illicit financial flows based on existing mechanisms.

111. The Ministers underscored the need to adopt effective measures to prevent and combat crimes that affect the environment, such as illicit trafficking in wildlife, including, inter alia, flora and fauna as protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, in timber and timber products, in hazardous wastes and other wastes and in precious metals, stones and other minerals, as well as, inter alia, poaching, by making the best possible use of relevant international instruments and by strengthening legislation, international cooperation, capacity-building, criminal justice responses and law enforcement efforts aimed at, inter alia, dealing with transnational organized crime, corruption and money laundering linked to such crimes, and illicit financial flows derived from such crimes, while acknowledging the need to deprive criminals of proceeds of crime.

112. The Ministers urged all States to scale up the level of cooperation to curb illicit financial flows and recover the proceeds of crime, including embezzled public funds, stolen assets and unaccounted-for assets that are found in safe havens, and to demonstrate strong commitment to ensuring the return of such assets to the countries of origin. The Ministers also urged the international community to enhance its support for the efforts of Member States to develop and strengthen capacities in various areas, inter alia, their national tax authorities, legal and regulatory institutions, businesses and financial institutions, and for increased public awareness to enhance accountability mechanisms and help to combat illicit financial flows. In addition, the Ministers reiterated their call on States to consider the possibility of waiving or reducing to the barest minimum the processes and costs of the recovery of assets, in particular by reducing the administrative and legal bottlenecks in the recovery of illicit assets.

113. The Ministers stressed the importance of eliminating safe havens that create incentives for the transfer abroad of stolen assets and illicit financial flows. They reiterated the commitment to working to strengthen regulatory frameworks at all levels to further increase transparency and the accountability of financial institutions, the corporate sector and public administrations. The Ministers reaffirmed that they would strengthen international cooperation and national institutions to combat money-laundering and the financing of terrorism. They recalled the Riyadh initiative for enhancing international anti-corruption law enforcement cooperation as part of which the Global Operational Network for Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobeE Network) was established under the auspices of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and they welcomed the adoption of the Algeria Guiding Principles on the use of new technologies in counter-terrorism under Algeria's chairmanship of the UN Securtity Council Counter-Terrorism Committee.

114. The Ministers emphasized the importance of improving investment and financing into sectors that are critical to accelerating the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in developing countries. They encouraged in this regard, private and public sectors investors to take steps to address SDG investment gaps.

115. The Ministers stressed that the private sector should contribute in mobilizing resources needed to finance sustainable development, including through blended finance, where applicable. They emphasized the need for accountability and transparency as well as the commitment towards a long-term approach.

116. The Ministers reiterated their call on the international community to align financial markets with sustainable development. They underlined that States should demonstrate their willingness to implement the commitments they have made, both in the national and international levels, in order to create the necessary conditions and the enabling environment for private resources to be adequately channelled towards long-term sustainable development goals. Foreign direct investment must be increased and become more long-term oriented and aligned with national development priorities to support developing countries in implementing the SDGs.

117. The Ministers emphasised that the goal of protecting and encouraging investment should not affect our ability to pursue public policy objectives. They stressed the need to craft trade and investment agreements with appropriate safeguards so as not to constrain domestic policies and regulation in the public interest. They also emphasised the importance of provision of capacity building to developing countries in order to benefit from opportunities in international trade and investment agreements.

118. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the sixteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, to be held in Geneva from 20 to 23 October 2025. They recalled the holding of UNCTAD 15 in Barbados from 3-7 October 2021 and the adoption of the Bridgetown Ministerial Declaration and renewed their commitment to support UNCTAD as the major UN voice for the South in order to fulfill its mandate as envisaged by our Group in the Joint Declaration of 15 June 1964. The Ministers reiterated the role of UNCTAD as the focal point within the United Nations system for the integrated treatment of trade and development and interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development, and in contributing to supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, to carry developing countries' voice within the United
Nations and beyond.

119. The Ministers emphasized that international trade is an engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty eradication and that it contributes to the promotion sustainable development, structural transformation and industrialisation, particularly in developing countries. In this context, the Ministers stressed the significance of the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries in harnessing the developmental benefit of international trade, to facilitate the integration of their economies to the multilateral trading system and the fulfillment of the obligations and commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO). The issues of particular concern to developing countries should be addressed, especially as related to sectors of special interest to them with a view to enhance their capacities to finance development and to diversify their economies.

120. The Ministers stressed the importance to work to build an open and steady recovery of world economy, step up macro-economic policy coordination, and create a peaceful, stable, open and inclusive environment for international development.

121. The Ministers expressed their concern that developing countries are being pressed to undertake tariff reductions and provide greater market access on a non-reciprocal basis, while simultaneously facing unjustifiably high tariffs and non-tarrif barriers on their export products. Such practices, applied in a unilateral and arbitrary manner, run counter to the fundamental principles of the WTO and the rules-based Multilateral Trading System. The Ministers underscored that these policies are unacceptable, as they risk exacerbating inequalities, distorting trade flows, and fostering economic fragmentation and instability.

122. The Ministers reaffirmed the central role of the WTO in today's global economy, and their commitment to ensure full implementation and enforcement of existing WTO rules, as well as their determination to work together to further strengthen the WTO. They also reaffirmed that the WTO provides the multilateral framework of rules governing international trade relations, an essential mechanism for preventing and resolving trade disputes, and a forum for addressing trade related issues that affect all WTO members. They remained firmly committed to a universal, rules-based, open, transparent, predictable, inclusive, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.

123. The Ministers welcomed the ongoing efforts to fully operationalize the African Continental Free Trade Area, whose secretariat is in Accra, Ghana and the commencement of actual trading under the Agreement aimed at doubling intra African trade to strengthen Africa's resilience, COVID-19 recovery and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

124. The Ministers acknowledged the outcomes of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) Abu Dhabi, March 2024, and supported to continue the WTO negotiations to further reform agricultural trade rules, with a view to achieve concrete and positive results at the 14th Ministerial Conference to be held in Cameroon.

125. The Ministers maintained that a successful conclusion of the Doha Development Round launched in 2001 can only be achieved if the outcomes thereof, significantly address the imbalances and inequities in the multilateral trading system. It is a matter of deep concern that the Doha Development Agenda, which aims at addressing the systemic imbalances in the multilateral trading system and ensuring more integration of the developing countries in international trade, has not been concluded.

126. Furthermore, in the spirit of globalization and interdependence, the Ministers reiterated the need to achieve an outcome that strengthens the multilateral trading system under the WTO and continues to fight all forms of protectionism. They expressed their deep concern with the increase in the unilateral and protectionist measures, implemented by the developed countries, which run counter to the spirit and rules of the WTO and the purposes and principles of the UN, and that will not only undermine the multilateral trading system, but also will lead to negative impact on access of the developing countries' exports to the global markets and negatively affect their development.

127. The Ministers reaffirmed that the WTO dispute settlement system is a cornerstone of the MTS and promotes predictability in international trade. They noted with concern the impasse in the selection process for new Appellate Body Members has severely undermined the dispute settlement system and the rights and obligations of all Members. Therefore, they urged all Members to engage constructively in the discussions towards the conclusion of the necessary reform of the WTO to improve all its functions, preserving the centrality, core values and fundamental principles of the WTO and restore the Appellate body in order to ensure a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system accessible to all Members as soon as possible.

128. The Ministers emphasized the importance of facilitating the accession of developing countries to the WTO, recognizing the contribution that their accession would make to the rapid and full integration of those countries into the multilateral trading system. They urged in this regard the acceleration of the accession process on a technical and legal basis and in an expeditious and transparent manner for developing countries that have applied for membership in the WTO, and reaffirmed the importance of the Organization's decision WT/L/508/Add.1 of 25 July 2012 on accession by the least developed countries. They welcomed the 13th Ministerial Conference decisions WT/MIN (24) 31 dated 4th March 2024 and MT/MIN (24) 32 dated 4th March on the accession of the Union of Comoros and Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to the WTO Agreement respectively.

129. The Ministers reaffirmed their full support to the universal, rules-based, open, transparent, predictable, inclusive, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core and reaffirmed their commitment to work constructively with all WTO Members on the necessary reform of the Organization, with a view to better addressing current and future challenges, as well as long standing issues, in international trade, thus enhancing its relevance and effectiveness. The reform must, inter alia, preserve the centrality, core values and fundamental principles of the WTO, and consider the interests of all its members.

130. The Ministers stressed that emerging debt challenges and vulnerabilities have intensified across developing countries in recent years and noted with concern that, several developing countries are fiscally constrained in generating resources needed for implementation of the 2030 Agenda due to their debt burdens , which in many countries has limited public investment in health systems, education, and social protection. The COVID-19 pandemic also resulted in the overall growth in debt levels in virtually all developing countries, due to increased spending to provide economic stimulus, increased health spending, or as a result of a substantial decline in revenues. The Ministers underlined the need to explore the means and instruments needed to achieve debt sustainability as well as, the necessary measures to reduce the indebtedness of the developing countries.

131. The Ministers recognized that borrowing is an important tool for financing investment critical to achieving sustainable development and noted with concern that public and private debt levels and vulnerabilities have continued to rise in a growing number of developing countries. The Ministers noted with concern that there are risks of a potential renewed cycle of debt crises and economic disruption that would pose severe additional challenges to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

132. The Ministers recognized that a large gap between public resources and financing needs persists in many developing countries and is widening. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of debt restructurings being timely, orderly, effective, fair and negotiated in good faith. The Ministers reiterated that debtors and creditors must work together to prevent and resolve unsustainable debt situations. Maintaining sustainable debt levels is the responsibility of the borrowing countries; however, they acknowledge that lenders also have a responsibility to lend in a way that does not undermine a country's debt sustainability.

133. The Ministers called on international community to strengthen debt crisis solutions, with the meaningful participation of developing countries, in line with the principles of collective action and fair burden sharing, with the full participation of international financial institutions and private creditors.

134. The Ministers expressed concern over the increasing debt vulnerabilities of developing countries, the tightening of global financial conditions, and in this regard, emphasized the urgency for additional actions and further initiatives to strengthen the international financial architecture for long-term debt sustainability. While appreciating the historic allocation of $650bn SDRs, they encouraged countries with strong external positions to voluntarily channel at least $250bn special drawing rights to all developing countries in need including through multilateral and regional development banks. They also stressed that inaccurate credit ratings can impact the cost of borrowing and the stability of the international financial system. The Ministers stressed that, given their role in either facilitating or hampering progress on debt treatment and affecting the cost of borrowing, it would be important that credit rating agencies ensure that their ratings are objective, independent and based on accurate information and sound analytical methods. The Ministers encouraged transparency from credit rating agencies to consider adapting the use of criteria to extraordinary circumstances.

135. The Ministers noted with concern that the debt challenges of developing countries remain elevated with the external debt reaching a record level of USD 11.7 trillion in 2024, an increase of 2.6 percent vis-à-vis 2022. This has resulted in debt service burdens, including the high debt service costs that crowd out vital investments and constrain progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Consequently, these unsustainable debt burdens in developing countries are stretching the social safety nets, causing socioeconomic distress, and constraining the achievement of sustainable development, while the multilateral response has been subdued, considering the severity of the situation.

136. The Ministers highlighted that developing countries currently spend US$ 1.4 trillion per year to service their foreign debt, which is approximately seven times what is received annually in ODA. They stressed that today there is a negative flow of financial resources from the Global South, where investment needs are immense and capital is scarce, to wealthy countries in the North, where capital is abundant. The Ministers noted that this situation is ethically unjust and economically unsustainable.

137. The Ministers stressed that debt sustainability and socioeconomic equality for all requires coordinated actions at all levels. Therefore, they called for the urgent measures to achieve debt sustainability and socioeconomic equality for all.

138. The ministers acknowledged with appreciation the advancements made in compromiso de Seville on debt and debt sustainability, The Ministers further acknowledged the efforts to establish the platform for borrowers countries.

139. The Ministers recalled that the 2008 world financial and economic crisis highlighted the regulatory gaps in the international financial system. They stressed that the structural reform of the international financial system and the relevant institutions is urgently needed to avoid recurrence of crises that could have severe negative impacts on the economies of the developing countries.

140. Moreover, the Ministers reiterated the prerequisite of making the international financial system and the relevant institutions more responsive to the needs and concerns of developing countries, including broadening and strengthening their participation in the global economic governance and the international economic decision-making.

141. The Ministers stressed that the United Nations provides a unique and key forum for discussing international economic issues and their impact on development and commit to further strengthening the role of the United Nations in global economic governance, decision making and norm-setting.

142. The Ministers highlighted resolution 69/319, which further established that sovereign debt restructuring processes should be guided by basic international principles of law, such as sovereignty, good faith, transparency, legitimacy, equitable treatment and sustainability. The resolution reflected the continued concerns about the long-term debt sustainability in the context of a continued global economic fragility.

143. The Ministers stressed that the reform of the international financial architecture cannot be postponed any longer. There is an urgent need to broaden and strengthen the voice and participation of developing countries in international economic decision-making. This implies further governance reform in IFIs, especially the IMF and the World Bank; improved global sovereign debt architecture with the meaningful participation of developing countries; urgent rechannelling of unutilized Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to developing countries and a new allocation of SDRs; inclusive and effective platforms to design and discuss international tax rules and norms at the UN, such as the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation; as well as urgent and sizeable recapitalization of the Multilateral Development Banks to meet the significant financial needs of developing countries; and rationalizing the role of credit rating agencies.

144. The Ministers stressed that the reforms of the International Financial Architecture should address the key financing priorities of all developing countries.

145. The Ministers called for undertaking governance reforms at the international financial institutions and multilateral development banks, especially the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, to enhance representation of all developing countries and strengthen trust among their members. They look forward to the work to develop, possible approaches as a guide for further quota realignment of International Monetary Fund, including through a new quota formula, under the 17th General Review of Quotas, and to urgently conducting the shareholding review of the World Bank, to better reflect members' relative positions in the world economy, while ensuring that no developing country is left worse off in terms of voice and shareholding. They recommitted to open and transparent, gender-balanced, geographically representative and merit-based leadership selection in international financial institutions and call for the heads, management and staff of all international institutions to be selected based on competence and equitable geographical representation.

146. The Ministers emphasized that the importance of adopting science, technology and innovation strategies as integral elements of national sustainable development strategies to help promote innovation-driven development, economic recovery and poverty eradication and to strengthen knowledge-sharing and collaboration and the importance of scaling up investments in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and digital literacy education, e-commerce for farmers and enhancing technical, vocational and tertiary education, distance education and training and lifelong learning opportunities, and of ensuring equal access for all women and girls and encouraging their participation therein.

147. The Ministers reaffirmed that science, technology and innovation, including information and communication technologies, have become central to addressing global challenges and are one of the driving mechanisms of the transformation to accelerate progress towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals. They reiterated their call on the international community to strengthen solidarity and cooperation, speed up efforts to harness scientific and technological achievements to accelerate sustainable development, and unleash new impetus for innovation-driven growth.

148. The Ministers recognized the importance of promoting a fair, balanced and equitable global intellectual property system that serves people and fosters the development of new technologies.

149. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the Diplomatic Conference of the World Intellectual Property Organization on Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge; at which the Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge was adopted. This represents a significant step forward in ensuring the transparency of the patent system and the protection and appropriate use of such knowledge for the benefit of humanity and sustainable development.

150. The Ministers emphasized that a governance system based on science, technology and innovation is essential to identify problems and find effective solutions aimed at inclusive and sustainable economic development, conservation and sustainable use of the environment, poverty eradication and inequality reduction. In this context, they further stressed that technology transfer is one of the core priorities of the developing countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda. They reiterated the need to accelerate the transfer of technology to developing countries on favorable terms including on concessional and preferential terms. It is key to strengthen strategic partnerships between countries of the North and the South so as to contribute to the sharing of knowledge, innovation and transfer of technology.

151. The Ministers welcomed the adoption of General Assembly resolution A/RES/78/259 of 9 January 2024, which proclaimed 16 September as the International Day of Science, Technology and Innovation for the South and reiterated the importance of its implementation.

152. The Ministers stressed the need to enhance capacity-building at all levels as an essential prerequisite to achieving sustainable development and poverty eradication. In this regard, they called upon developed countries to fulfill their commitments and to step up support to developing countries in order to help them address their capacity-building gap and support their efforts to diversify their economies and strengthen State and productive capacities.

153. The Ministers reaffirmed that enhancing capacity building in science, technology and innovation is fundamental for the progress of the developing countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda. In this regard, there is an urgent need for allocation of financing for the fulfillment of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism's (TFM) mandate. They recalled however that limitations in the capacity and speed of fixed-broadband connections in the developing countries will affect the quality and functionality of digital connectivity as a development tool and widen the already existing inequalities. In this regard, the Ministers emphasized that support is needed to undertake national productive capacities gap assessments and implement holistic productive capacities development programmes. They expressed support for initiatives and forums, such as the "Partnership in Action on STI for the SDGs Roadmaps", initiated by the Interagency Task Team (IATT) on STI for the SDGs.

154. The Ministers stressed that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and its widespread, unprecedented impacts disproportionately burden all developing countries and in particular the poorest and most vulnerable among them. Extreme weather events and slow on-set events affected the environment, the economy and society and reversed hard-earned developmental gains, increasing the adverse impact on our populations, particularly on Indigenous Peoples, and local communities. They reiterated the objective of the UNFCCC, and its principles, including the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances, while recognizing the need for an effective and progressive response to the urgent threat of climate change on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty.

155. The Ministers reaffirmed that the Paris Agreement, adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is the collective achievement of all Parties, and seeks to enhance the implementation of the Convention, in accordance with its objectives, principles and provisions, in particular equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances. They further reiterated the centrality of addressing the, needs and priorities of developing countries and their right to development, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty and leave no one behind. It is also essential to maintain focus on the implementation of existing commitments by developed countries in the pre-2020 period, acknowledging that the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol has entered into force on 31 December 2020. They stressed that global effort to fight climate change is an irreversible process that cannot be overlooked nor postponed.

156. The ministers recognized that, while progress has been made, a gap remains between current pledges and pathways consistent with the Paris Agreement´s temperature goal. The Ministers reiterated the nationally determined nature of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and underscored the importance of the full and timely delivery of their next round of NDCs by COP30 in Belem. They emphasized that finance, capacity-building and technology transfer are critical enablers of climate action and called for scaled-up support for developing countries. They reaffirmed that climate action shall be undertaken in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, fully respecting the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. They urged developed countries to urgently close pre-2020 mitigation gaps, to revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and to achieve net-zero GHG emissions significantly ahead of 2040, preferably by 2030, and net-negative GHG emissions immediately thereafter.

157. The Ministers stressed the importance of support, in particular finance as a cornerstone to ensure the success and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and of the provision of adequate, predictable , accessible and sustainable financial resources by developed countries to developing countries, in line with the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement, to enhance developing countries actions in mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage response and addressing the specific needs of developing countries. Developing countries are already making significant efforts and enhanced support will allow for higher ambition in their actions. They urged All developed countries to communicate their mandatory climate finance projections by COP30 covering pledges for the next 1 to 2 years, as agreed in Article 9 paragraph 5 of the Paris Agreement, to provide more predictability for developing country climate action. The Ministers expressed their deep concern regarding the shortfalls in resources of the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC which represents less than 2% of global climate finance flows, in particular the GCF and the GEF and the Adaptation Fund. They stressed the importance of capitalisation of the GEF SCCF and calls on the GEF Council to further increase country allocations through the SCCF. Noting current pledges to the Green Climate Fund's second replenishment (GCF?2), they urged the prompt conversion of pledges into contribution agreements, ensure timely encashment, and expedite programming and disbursement.

158. The Ministers noted with concern the growing gap between the needs of developing country parties, in particular those due to the increasing impacts of climate change and their increased indebtedness, and the support provided and mobilized for their efforts in climate mitigataion and adaption. They highlighted that, for current nationally determined contributions, such needs are currently estimated at 5.8 trillion to 5.9 trillion United States dollars for the pre-2030 period.

159. The Ministers stressed the importance of a timely fulfillment by the developed countries of their commitment under New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance adopted at COP29 in Baku to mobilize USD $300 billion per year by 2035 for developing countries; and of access for developing countries to private capital for climate fincanceand sustainable development projects. They stressed that climate finance must not be double counted as official development assistance and must therefore be considered as new and additional to such assistance. They looked forward to the "Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3T", under the guidance of the presidencies of COP29 and COP30.

160. In this context, the Ministers reaffirmed the urgent need for the climate change agenda to be fully implemented in accordance with the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement and upholding the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. In this regard, it is critical to materialize the urgent and timely provision and mobilization of resources by developed countries to developing countries to tackle climate change.

161. The Ministers remained concerned that the current provision of climate finance for adaptation remains insufficient to respond to worsening climate change impacts in developing country Parties and echoed recognition at the COP28 in Dubai between mitigation and adaptation that adaptation finance will have to be significantly scaled up beyond the doubling as per decision 1/CMA.3, paragraph 18, to support the urgent and evolving need to accelerate adaptation and build resilience in developing countries, considering the need for public and grant-based resources for adaptation and exploring the potential of other sources, and reiterates the importance of support for progress in implementing developing countries' national adaptation plans by 2030. They also called for a standalone "Implementation Plan" for how the crucial decision on doubling adaptation funding by 2025 is being executed by developed nations. They reiterated the importance of the adequacy, predictability, and accessibility of adaptation finance, including the value of the Adaptation Fund in delivering dedicated support for adaptation and expressed disappointment that USD 230 million of the USD 356 million pledges to the Adaptation Fund has not been delivered., and urged developed countries to deliver on their pledges and called on the formal replenishment of the Adaptation Fund. The Ministers emphasized the critical need to go beyond doubling adaptation finance from 2019 levels, recognizing that the escalating impacts of climate change demand more ambitious commitments.

162. The Ministers further recalled the aim of the Paris agreement to strengthen the global response to the threat climate change, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, including by increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development, in a manner that does not threaten food production. They welcomed the launch of Baku Adaptation Roadmap and Baku High-Level Dialogue on Adaptation and emphasized the need to shape the future of adaptation at COP30, including by operationalizing the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) to inform action aligned with national priorities and local circumstances, support the implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and enhance ambition, cooperation and support. They recognized the work carried out under the comprehensive two-year Glasgow-Sharm El-Sheikh work programme on the GGA, and also welcomed the establishment of the UAE Framework on Global Climate Resilience at COP28, including the establishment, for the first time, of targets to track global progress on the achievement of the Global Goal of Adaptation. They expressed their support to the UAE-Belém work programme on indicators and look forward to its conclusion at COP30 , incuding in regard to means of implementation indicators to measure the adequacy and effectiveness of adaptation support. They also highlighted that adaptation is an imperative for developing countries, which are disproportionately affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, and underscored that sustainable development and poverty eradication efforts are essential to building resilient nations.

163. The Ministers also called for increased action to address loss and damage and the adverse effects of climate change from extreme and slow onset events, economic and non-economic losses. They highlighted the importance of scaling up support for the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage with a view to allow the mechanism to effectively carry out its functions. In this regard, the Ministers reaffirmed their support to the Santiago Network for averting and minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change. The Ministers welcomed the first meetings of the Santiago Network's Advisory Board and called for a rapid provision of technical support to developing countries.

164. The Ministers recalled the historic decision at COP27 to establish the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage and its full operationalization at COP28 as an entity entrusted with the operation of the Financial Mechanism and serving the Agreement, and welcomed the finalization of key institutional arrangements at COP29, including the signature of hosting and trustee arrangements with the World Bank, the Host Country Agreement with the Republic of the Philippines, and the appointment of the Executive Director. They expressed great concern that the contributions received thus far to the FRLD fall far short of the actual needs of developing countries, and called on developed countries to significantly increase their pledges and contributions to the fund. They called for the early disbursement of current pledges and timely capitalization, with a view to supporting developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, in accordance with the fund's mandate.

165. The Ministers stressed that the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage is a stand-alone operating entity of the Financial Mechanism of the Convention and its Paris Agreement and be guided by and accountable to both the COP and CMA. The Ministers emphasized that the Loss and Damage Fund is the centerpiece of the new loss and damage funding arrangements.

166. The Ministers expressed their full support to the COP30 Presidency and also underscored their commitment to a successful COP30 with meaningful outcomes in Belem. They took note of the plans to launch the Tropical Forest Forever Facility in Belém, at UNFCCC COP30 which aims to mobilize long-term, results-based financing for tropical forest conservation. They further reaffirmed their determination to uphold the value of multilateralism for people and planet.

167. The Ministers recalled the convening of COP27 at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt and urged the timely implementations of its decisions including the Sharm El-Sheikh implementation plan.

168. The Ministers encouraged all parties to fully implement the Paris Agreement and parties of the UNFCCC that have not yet done so to deposit their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, where appropriate, as soon as possible. They also highlighted the importance to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change. Parties aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, recognizing that peaking will take longer for developing countries Parties, and to undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with the best available science, so as to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century, on the basis of equity, and in the context of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty. The Ministers underscored that limiting global warming to 1.5 °C requires rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, including reducing global carbon dioxide emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 relative to the 2010 level and to net zero around mid-century, as well as deep reductions in other greenhouse gases, and further recognizes that this requires accelerated action in this critical decade, on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge and equity, reflecting common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty and leave no one behind. The Ministers also stressed that the developed countries should continue taking the lead by undertaking economy-wide absolute emission reduction targets and support shall be provided to developing countries for the implementation as per article four of the Paris Agreement.

169. The Ministers stressed that these principles are fundamental for developing countries. They emphasized that the balanced package in the Paris Agreement with respect to mitigation, adaptation, the provision of the means of implementation and support to developing countries, enhanced transparency, and international cooperation must be upheld and are not to be renegotiated nor reinterpreted. They called on developed countries to fill deficiencies in their implementation of their pre-2020 commitments, undertake and increase the economy-wide absolute emission reduction targets in their NDCs and scale up their provision of support to developing countries.

170. The Ministers expressed their deep concern on recent developments in some developed countries in relation to fulfilling their commitments under the Paris Agreement. They stressed that the global effort to combat climate change is an irreversible process that should not be undermined or weakened, and highlighted the expectation that developed countries should fulfill their leadership role through more ambitious mitigation targets and financial support to developing countries in line with priorities of developing countries.

171. The Ministers emphasized that developed countries shall continue to take the key leading role on mitigation by undertaking and increasing economy-wide absolute emission reduction targets for their pledges and nationally determined contributions (NDCs). For developing countries adaptation to climate change is a priority, and a key component of the implementation of the Paris Agreement. In this regard adequate capacity-building, transfer of technology and financing support for developing countries according to historic responsibilities and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities for climate action is critical and should be based on and respond to national needs, and foster country ownership. The process of capacity-building must be participatory, country-driven, and cross-cutting. Enhanced financial and technological support coupled with knowledge and skills transfer from developed countries will allow for effective implementation and enhanced ambition of developing countries. The Ministers reaffirmed that measures to combat climate change, including unilateral ones, should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade. They stressed their concerns regarding the increased implementation of environmental measures with trade effects that disregard the principles of the multilateral environmental agreements and negatively affect the exports of developing countries, undermining their economic growth and hindering their development. The Ministers stressed the need for urgent discussions in relevant multilateral fora including under the UNFCCC to address the issue of trade-related environmental measures and their negative impact on the trade and development prospects of developing countries, and for a cooperative multilateral solution to be found by 2025 and before implementing such measures.

172. The Ministers called for a commitment by developed countries to fund the extra costs of all climate mitigation projects voluntarily undertaken by developing countries and emphasized the urgency of scaling up action and support, including finance, capacity building and technology transfer, to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change in line with the best available science, taking into account the priorities and needs of developing country Parties.

173. The Ministers recalled the decisions adopted at the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, including the outcome of the first global stocktake of the Paris Agreement and the decisions, adopted under the "UAE Consensus". The Ministers highlighted the importance of reflecting the commitment of all Parties to fully implement the Paris Agreement within their respective responsibilities and capabilities with developed countries taking the lead both on action and support, in line with the UNFCCC. They also highlighted their continued support to the Presidencies of COP28, COP29 and COP30 in their role of guiding the "Road map to Mission 1.5" to significantly enhance international cooperation and the international enabling environment with a view to strengthening action and implementation over this critical decade.

174. The Ministers also stressed the importance of the Decision taken at UNFCCC COP 27 to establish a work programme on just transition pathways, reiterating the urgent need to ensure just transitions that promote sustainable development and the eradication of poverty, whilst reducing inequalities within and among countries and based on equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in light of different national circumstances. They highlighted the importance of adequate means of implementation for developing countries to be provided and facilitated by developed countries as per their responsibilities and under the Convention and its Paris Agreement, to undertake concrete action and address all aspects of just transition Therefore, they called on the international community to look into all options and solutions towards promoting just and inclusive transition pathways.

175. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the twenty-ninth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) from 11 to 22 November 2024 in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan and looked forward to the convening of the thirtieth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) from 10 to 21 November 2025 in the city of Belém, Brazil.

176. The Ministers noted the multiple values and contributions of forests and sustainable forest management to sustainable development in its three dimensions, including to climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation and restoration, prevention of land degradation and floods, among others, and in that regard they reaffirmed the importance of taking action to implement and support, including through results-based payments, the Warsaw Framework for REDD-plus and alternative policy approaches, such as joint mitigation and adaptation approaches for the integral and sustainable management of forests, recalling decision 9/CP.19 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, and further recalling the relevant role of the Green Climate Fund in financing REDD-plus activities in developing countries, in line with article 5 of the Paris Agreement.

177. The Ministers having recognized that the importance of planet Earth and its ecosystems, are our home and that "Mother Earth" is a common expression in a number of countries and regions, noting that some countries recognize the rights of nature in the context of the promotion of sustainable development, and expressing the conviction that, in order to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations in an equitable manner, it is necessary to promote harmony with nature.

178. The Ministers noted the convening of the dialogue on Harmony with Nature held during the seventy-seventh session of the General Assembly.

179. The Ministers called for the implementation of holistic and integrated approaches to sustainable development, in its economic, social, and environmental dimensions, that will guide humanity to live in harmony with nature and lead to efforts to restore the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystems.

180. The Ministers recalled the common determination to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, ensuring that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature. The Ministers stressed the need to accelerate implementation of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Patterns with developed countries taking the lead while providing adequate support for developing countries. They further stressed that developing countries need financial and technical assistance to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production.

181. The Ministers recognized that protecting ecosystems and avoiding harmful practices against animals, plants, microorganisms and non-living environments contributes to the coexistence of humankind in harmony with nature. The Ministers further recognized the importance of promoting efforts in the area of ecosystem restoration, as an integral part of the promotion of the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda.

182. The Ministers recognized the need for a broader, systemic and a more people-centered preventive approach to disaster risk, that disaster risk reduction practices need to be multi-hazard and multi-sectoral, inclusive and accessible in order to be efficient, effective, and that to achieve the 2030 Agenda disaster risk reduction must be integrated at the core of development and finance policies, legislation, and plans. In this regard, the Ministers recalled the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, reaffirming that developing countries are disproportionately affected by the impacts of disasters, in particular the LDCs, SIDS, LLDCs and African countries, as well as MICs facing specific challenges, need particular attention in view of their higher vulnerability and risk levels, which often greatly exceed their capacity to respond to and recover from disasters, and recognizing also that similar attention and appropriate assistance should also be extended to other disaster-prone countries with specific characteristics, such as archipelagic countries, as well as countries with extensive coastlines. The Ministers also recognize the health aspects of the Sendai Framework and stress the need for resilient health systems.

183. The Ministers appreciated the regional platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction held in Jamaica, Kenya, Morocco, Australia and Uruguay and welcomed the 8th Global Platform held in Geneva, Switzerland from 2-6 June 2025, and recognized the importance of their outcomes in strengthening commitment to achieve the targets of the Sendai Framework.

184. The Ministers welcomed General Assembly Resolution A/RES/79/128 dated 12 December 2024 on Agenda item 87 "Protection of persons in the event of disasters" whereby the Assembly decides to elaborate and conclude a legally binding instrument on the protection of persons in the event of disasters ,without prejudice to the legal effects of any particular provisions contained therein.

185. The Ministers recalled the convening of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the midterm review of the implementation of the Sendai Framework in New York on 18 and 19 May 2023 and noted its Political Declaration.

186. The Ministers reaffirmed that developing countries need adequate, sustainable and timely provision of support, including through finance, technology transfer and capacity-building from developed countries and partners tailored to their needs and priorities, as it is reflected in the principles of the Sendai Framework. In this context, the Ministers reaffirmed the need to implement the Sendai Framework in the context of poverty eradication efforts.

187. The Ministers also stressed that recent events have demonstrated the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures, particularly on developing countries, during recovering efforts from disasters. They urged all States to refrain from promulgating and applying such measures.

188. The Ministers reiterated that urgent and significant actions are needed to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species. They also reaffirmed the necessity of fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and from digital sequence information on genetic resources as well as the contribution from Indigenous Peoples and local communities whose traditional knowledge, including traditional knowledge associated to genetic resources, and practices are relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, in line with international instruments to which they are a party to. In that regard, the Ministers urged the international community to strengthen its efforts to halt the biodiversity loss and protect ecosystems including increasing the provision of financial, technological and capacity building support to developing countries necessary to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and in line with the provisions of the Convention on biological diversity.

189. The Ministers emphasized that biodiversity, and the ecosystem functions and services it provides, support all forms of life on Earth and is fundamental to human well-being, a healthy planet and economic prosperity for all and underpin our human and planetary health and well-being, economic growth and sustainable development.

190. The Ministers recalled the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, as well as the meetings of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meetings of the Parties to the Protocols to the Convention, held in Kunming, China and Montreal, Canada, under the theme "Ecological civilization: building a shared future for all life on Earth", took note with appreciation of the adoption of the Kunming Declaration. They also recalled the Pre-COP of Biodiversity, held in Colombia on 30 August 2021. The Ministers highlighted the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as the meetings of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meetings of the Parties to the Protocols to the Convention, held in Cali, Colombia, from October 21 to November 1, 2024, under the theme "Peace With Nature", and took note with appreciation of the decisions adopted. Minister welcomed the establishment and operationalization of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund as well as the launch of the Cali Fund for the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits from the Use of Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources (DSI).

191. The Ministers welcomed the adoption of the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention in December 2022, and its 23 action-oriented global goals and targets for 2030 and its 2050 Vision for Biodiversity and ,the new National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans submitted in line with it. They also highlighted the need to increase ambition towards reaching the KMGBF targets by 2030, and to achieve more equitable governance within multilateral funding institutions, in particular the Global Environment Facility.

192. The Ministers urged developed countries to significantly enhance the efforts to increase total biodiversity-related international financial resources, including official development assistance, to developing countries in accordance with Article 20 of the Convention and Target 19 (a) of the Framework. They also welcomed the strategy for resource mobilization for the period 2025-2030 adopted at COP16 and the decision to operationalize Article 21 of the Convention, in particular by establishing the permanent arrangement for the financial mechanism envisioned thereunder.

193. The Ministers called for transformative actions from all relevant stakeholders to strive towards the swift and full implementation of all the goals and targets of the KMGBF, including by accelerating the implementation of strengthened national biodiversity strategies and action plans and the alignment of national targets with the KMGBF. The Ministers also called for adequate and sufficient means of implementation for developing countries to ensure the full implementation of the Convention to halt biodiversity loss, including by providing and mobilizing new, additional and predictable financial resources, technological and capacity building, to support the effective implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. They welcomed the financial commitments and initiatives that have been announced from governments, organizations and private sector that contribute to biodiversity and keep the political momentum towards a successful Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework with the aim of building a community of all life on earth.

194. The Ministers reaffirmed the necessity of fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and from digital sequence information on genetic resources. They noted the increase in parties to the Nagoya Protocol.

195. The Ministers expressed their deep concern about the continuous illicit poaching and trafficking of wildlife, with nearly 7,000 species of animals and plants reported in illegal trade, which continues to thwart conservation efforts. Strong international and local action is still needed to curtail the illegal trade in certain species, particularly ivory. They highlighted, in this regard, the importance of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora COP19 in Panama in November 2022 and look forward to COP20 to be held in Uzbekistan in November 2025.

196. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the Summit of the Future on 22-23 September 2024 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

197. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme held in Nairobi from 26 February to 1 March 2024.

198. The Ministers recalled the importance of the ocean for sustainable development as embodied in Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, various decisions taken by the former Commission on Sustainable Development, as well as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including Goal 14 Conserve and sustainably use the ocean, seas and marine resources. The Ministers further recalled that, in this context, targets related to means of implementation including target 14.a, related to increasing scientific knowledge, developing research capacities and transferring marine technology in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular SIDS and LDCs, are crucial for the achievement of sustainable development.

199. The Ministers welcomed the convening, in 2025 of the third United Nations conference to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: conserve and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development, and the adoption by consensus of its political declaration 'Our Ocean, Our Future United for Urgent Action'. They stressed that our oceans and seas are critically important as they are our planet's lungs. They produce over 50% of oxygen, they are home to most of earth's biodiversity, they regulate our climate and support the livelihoods. They are essential for our food security, economic growth, planetary health, and are an integral source for our identity and culture. They reaffirmed the Political Declarations adopted at the first and second conferences and look forward to the convening of the fourth United Nations Conference to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 in 2028. The Ministers emphasized the need to translate the commitments of the 2025 conference into concrete action and expressed concern that SDG14 continues to be the least funded of all SDGs. In this regard, they called upon developed countries to provide and mobilize new, additional, adequate, predictable and accessible financial resources, capacity building and technology transfer to developing countries to ensure the full and effective implementation of SDG 14 for the benefit of present and future generations.

200. The Ministers welcomed the decision by UNEA 5.2 to convene an intergovernmental negotiating committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, which could include both binding and voluntary approaches, based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, taking into account, among other things, the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, as well as national circumstances and capabilities. The Ministers underscored the importance of securing an ambitious international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, while acknowledging that some legal obligations arising out of a new instrument will require capacity-building and technical and financial assistance in order to be effectively implemented by developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

201. The Ministers stressed that the actions required to address the threat to the ocean have been identified. There is a need to urgently mobilize the means of implementation, such as financing, technology transfer, and capacity building, as well as to enhance scientific knowledge and research, especially to assist developing countries in protecting and restoring the ocean. They underlined the need to fully understand and better manage the multiple aspects of oceanic sustainability, ranging from sustainable fisheries, ecosystem health and prevention of marine pollution. The Ministers reaffirmed the need for an institutional framework to accelerate the implementation of SDG 14.

202. The Ministers welcomed the adoption of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).

203. The Ministers welcomed the opening for signature of this important Agreement on 20 September 2023 and called upon all States and regional economic integration organizations to consider signing and ratifying, approving or accepting the BBNJ Agreement at the earliest possible date. They welcomed that more than 50 instruments of ratification, approval, acceptance have already been deposited, paving the way for the entry into force of the Agreement in the near future, as well as the strong engagement of developing countries in this regard. They stressed the importance of the BBNJ Agreement in ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. They also stressed the need for a wide and active participation of developing countries in the new Agreement to improve their representation, participation in decision-making, and guarantee equitable partnership. They underlined the importance of establishing the secretariat of the BBNJ agreement in a developing country, while acknowledging that the Conference of the Parties, at its first meeting, shall adopt a decision on the functioning of the Secretariat, including on its seat. In this regard, they noted with appreciation Chile's offer to host the Secretariat of the Agreement.

204. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the Organizational Meeting of the Preparatory Commission for the Entry into Force of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction and the Convening of the First Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement, held from 24 to 26 June 2024. They welcomed the convening of the first two sessions of the Preparatory Commission, held from 14 to 25 April 2025 and from 18 to 29 August 2025, respectively, and looked forward to the third session to be held from 23 March to 2 April 2026 and to the Preparatory Commission delivering on its mandate while continuing to underline the vital importance for the sessions to be inclusive and ensure the participation of all delegations from developing countries in this process.

205. The Ministers recognized that the legal status of non-parties to the Convention or any other related agreements with regard to those instruments is not affected by the BBNJ Agreement as established in its Article 5 paragraph 3, or the legal status of parties to the Convention or any other related agreements with regard to those instruments, as agreed by the General Assembly in paragraph 10 of resolution 72/249.

206. The Ministers welcomed the inclusion of the principle of common heritage of humankind in as one of the principles that parties shall be guided by to achieve the objectives of the BBNJ Agreement, including the access and sharing of benefits of marine genetic resources (MGRs). They are of the view that this principle provides a legal foundation for a fair and equitable regime that would allow all countries to benefit from the potential that marine biodiversity represents in terms of global food security and economic prosperity, and to address the challenges of conservation and sustainable use of MGRs of areas beyond national jurisdictions.

207. The Ministers emphasized that developed countries should ensure and carry out enhanced capacity building and transfer of technology, including marine technology in accordance with the BBNJ Agreement to developing countries. Furthermore, they highlighted the importance of encouraging international cooperation at all levels, including North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation and partnerships with relevant stakeholders.

208. The Ministers stressed the need for mandatory and voluntary funding, in support of the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement, to enable developing States to fulfill their obligations and secure their rights in the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of the ocean in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction. The Ministers stressed that the financial resources under the BBNJ Agreement shall be adequate, accessible, new and additional and predictable.

209. The Ministers noted the mandate of the International Seabed Authority in accordance with UNCLOS, to organize and control activities in the Area, in particular with respect to the exploration and exploitation of its mineral resources. The Ministers recalled that the Area and its resources are the common heritage of humankind and stressed that activities carried out therin must be for the benefit of all, with special consideration for the needs and interests of developing countries.

210. The Ministers underlined that desertification, land degradation and drought are major environmental, economic and social challenges for sustainable development.

211. The Ministers expressed their deep concern about the continuous trend of land degradation in which about one fifth of the Earth's land surface covered by vegetation showed persistent and declining trends in productivity. They stressed that in some cases, advanced stages of land degradation are leading to desertification. In this context, it is significant to continue combatting desertification, restoring degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, especially in developing countries. The Ministers recognized that the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund, a unique public-private partnership, is an innovative model that can be replicated and provide a vehicle for the increased commitment of private capital to sustainable land management and restoration.

212. The Ministers also expressed deep concern on the magnitude, frequency and intensity of droughts as well as their economic and human costs. Noting with appreciation the ongoing implementation of the Drought Initiative adopted by the Conference of the Parties, the Ministers committed to pursue efforts to develop and implement national drought management policies, as well as the establishment and strengthening of comprehensive drought monitoring, preparedness and early warning systems.

213. The Ministers recalled the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from 9 to 10 May 2022, and its outcomes. The Ministers noted with appreciation the adoption of Abidjan Call as well as Abidjan Legacy Program tabled by the president of Côte d'Ivoire to address drought and preserve and restore terrestrial ecosystem, reverse land degradation and halt the loss of biodiversity. The Ministers further recalled 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification held in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 2 to 13 December 2024 in particular a financial commitments for Land Restoration and Drought Resilience, as well as Riyadh Action Agenda to prioritize innovation, equity, and cross-sector collaboration for land restoration, drought resilience, and food security . They looked forward to 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention to United Nations Combat Desertification to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 17 to 28 August 2026.

214. The Ministers encouraged partners and developed countries to increase their efforts and transfer of technology and the provision of funds oriented to addressing, in a balanced manner, desertification, land degradation and drought, particularly in support of the national efforts of affected developing countries. They called for the enhancement of national and international, bilateral and multilateral financial flows to strengthen synergies between conservation and sustainable development LDN actions.

215. The Ministers recognized sand and dust storms as a serious challenge to sustainable development in the affected countries and regions. They called upon the United Nations system to play its role in advancing international cooperation and support to combat sand and dust storms and invited all relevant bodies, agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations and all other related organizations to integrate into their respective cooperation frameworks and operational programmes measures and actions aimed at combating sand and dust storms, including the following measures: enhancing capacity-building at the national level; the development and implementation of regional and sub-regional programmes and projects; the sharing of information, best practices and experiences and the transferring of technology; efforts to control and prevent the main factors of sand and dust storms; and the development of early warning systems as tools. They also stressed the importance of addressing the socioeconomic and environmental challenges of the affected countries in the context of the SDGs.

216. The Ministers recognized that sand and dust storms is an issue of international concern, the costs of which are measured in economic, social and environmental terms, continues to grow, it negatively affects the achievement of 11 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and their means of implementation.

217. The Ministers recalled the convening of the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms held in Tehran, 9-10 September 2023, and took note of the ministerial declarations of the conference.

218. The Ministers welcomed the adoption of General Assembly Resolution A/RES /77/294 proclaiming 12th July as the International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms. The Ministers also welcomed the adoption of General Assembly Resolution A/RES/78/314 proclaiming 2025-2034 the United Nations Decade on Combating Sand and Dust Storms.

219. The Ministers emphasized the importance of reviewing the implementation of the United Nations Decade for Combating Sand and Dust Storms at its eighty-fourth session, as a means to assess progress made and identify challenges encountered, with a view to enhancing international cooperation, support for affected countries and providing timely opportunities to advance discussion on the matter, including convening of the first United Nations Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms under the auspices of the President of the General Assembly.

220. The Ministers stressed that sand and dust storms continue to pose a serious challenge to the sustainable development of affected countries and regions. In the past few years, sand and dust storms have inflicted substantial economic, social and environmental damage, especially in Africa and Asia, which underscores the urgent need to promptly take measures to address those challenges.

221. The Ministers recognized that the UN Forum on Forests, with its universal membership and comprehensive mandate, plays a vital role in addressing challenges and issues relating to forests in a holistic and integrated manner and in promoting policy coordination and cooperation to achieve the sustainable management of all types of forests and of trees outside forests. They encouraged other forest-related forums, initiatives and processes to cooperate with the Forum to achieve sustainable forest management.

222. The Ministers stressed that the full implementation of Global Forest Goal 4 and its five associated targets constitutes a common aspiration to deliver a real impact on the ground, to catalyze and facilitate the mobilization of increased, predictable and sustaining financing from all sources, including in ODA, to adequately carry out sustainable forest management at all levels, in particular for developing countries. They reiterated that the adequate and timely implementation of the UNSPF is fundamental for developing countries. In this regard, they highlighted the important issue of financing and the need to recognize major gaps on current allocation of resources. The Ministers also recognized the adoption of the African Union five-year continental Green Recovery Action Plan 2021-2027 and the ongoing implementation of the Great Green Wall initiative and called for enhanced financial and other support at national and regional levels to meet the objectives of afforestation and sustainable forest management.

223. The Ministers called on the international community to restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation, reforestation and conservation globally. While protecting areas in forest and terrestrial ecosystems is on the rise and forest loss has slowed, other facets of terrestrial conservation continue to need accelerated efforts to protect biodiversity, land productivity and species and genetic resources.

224. The Ministers emphasized that water is critical for sustainable development and the eradication of poverty and hunger and is indispensable for human development, health and wellbeing and a vital element in achieving the SDGs and other relevant goals in the social, environmental and economic fields.

225. The Ministers expressed their deep concern that lack of access to a safe drinking water source, basic sanitation and sound hygiene, water-related disasters, water scarcity and water pollution might be further exacerbated by urbanization, population growth, desertification, drought, glacial retreat and other slow onset and extreme weather events and climate change, as well as by the lack of capacity to ensure integrated water resource management. They stressed that developing countries need enhanced international finance, capacity building and transfer of environmentally sound technologies to achieve efficiency in water management and reiterated that ODA for the water sector should be increased.

226. The Ministers expressed their concerns that water stress is above 70 percent in some countries, including Northern Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia and Central and Southern Asia and South America, as well as the Lake Chad Region, which provides strong indication of future water scarcity. The Ministers acknowledged the additional challenges facing countries suffering from water scarcity and concerned with the impacts of such challenges including, inter-alia, on their ability to achieve the SDGs.

227. The Ministers recalled that the International Decade "Water for Sustainable Development" 2018-2028 aims to further cooperation and partnership at all levels in order to help achieve internationally agreed water-related goals and targets, including those contained in the 2030 Agenda. The Ministers recalled the convening of the United Nations Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, "Water for Sustainable Development", 2018-2028, from 22 to 24 March 2023. They welcomed the convening of the third High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action "Water for Sustainable Development", 2018-2028 held in Tajikistan 10 to 13 June 2024. They look forward to the 2026 UN Water Conference co-hosted by Senegal and United Arab Emirates and to be held in United Arab Emirates from 2 to 4 December 2026, and the 2028 United Nations Conference on the Final Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, "Water for Sustainable Development", 2018-2028, to be hosted by Tajikistan in Dushanbe.

228. The Ministers recognized that the World Water Forum, since it first convened in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 1997, has contributed to international dialogue on water and has promoted local, national and regional action on integrated and sustainable water resources management worldwide and recalled the 8th World Water Forum held in Brasilia, from 17 to 23 March 2018 and its outcomes, as well as the 9th World Water Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, from 22 to 27 March 2022 and also recalled its declaration. The Minister welcomed the 10th World Water Forum held in Bali, Indonesia, from 18-24 May 2024 and acknowledged its outcome. They looked forward to the 11th World Water Forum to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2027.

229. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs took note with appreciation the convening of the XIX World Water Congress, to be held in Marrakech, Morocco, from 1 to 5 December 2025, organized jointly by the Government of Morocco and the International Water Resources Association, under theme: "Water in a Changing World: Innovation and Adaptation".

230. The Ministers reiterated the need to commit to improving cooperation across borders, in transboundary waters, in accordance with applicable international law.

231. The Ministers recalled the commitment to step up efforts on all fronts to tackle desertification, land degradation, erosion and drought, biodiversity loss and water scarcity, which are seen as major environmental, economic and social challenges for global sustainable development.

232. The Ministers recalled in this regard, the endorsement by the African Heads of State and Government of the Inter-Basin Water Transfer Initiative, as a Pan African project to restore Lake Chad and promote its navigation, industrial and economic development, and encouraged relevant UN entities and development partners to support such African-oriented initiatives for stabilization, recovery and climate resilience in the region.

233. The Ministers further commended the initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates regarding water under the slogan "Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative," which aims to enhance awareness about the water scarcity crisis and accelerate the pace of developing innovative and sustainable technology solutions and strengthen international cooperation to address the challenge of global water scarcity and provide water sustainably and more equitably for all.

234. The Ministers took note of the Water Action Agenda.

235. The Ministers recalled the political declaration adopted by the high-level political forum on sustainable development convened under the auspices of the General Assembly (Sustainable Development Goals Summit), held in New York on 18 and 19 September 2023 in which leaders committed to addressing water scarcity and stressing and driving transformation from a global water crisis to a world where water is a sustainable resource, ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

236. The Ministers noted the designation of 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation and welcomed the convening of the First High-level International Conference on Glaciers' Preservation, held from 29 to 31 May 2025 in Tajikistan. They further welcomed the launch of the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences (2025-2034) in June 2025 in Nice, France by Tajikistan and France, underscoring the critical importance of international scientific cooperation and the need for enhanced support to developing countries.

237. The Ministers stressed the necessity of ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable and renewable energy for all and the need for strengthened political will and increased levels of investment and action by all stakeholders to increase access to clean energy research and technology, according to national plans and policies, and with a view to transfer the relevant technologies to the developing countries. They reiterated that international cooperation should be strengthened to assist developing countries in achieving this target as well as in developing regional interconnectivity, expanding infrastructure and upgrading technology for supplying renewable and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries. The Ministers took note of G20 Energy Transitions Ministers' Meeting held in Goa, India, on 22 July 2023, and its Outcome Document and Chair's Summary.

238. The Ministers noted with appreciation that the transformation of the world's energy systems is being accelerated by advances in technology, rapid declines in the cost of renewable energy, deployment of least-cost decentralized solutions, policy support, new business models and sharing of best practices. In this regard, they welcomed the establishment of the International Solar Alliance as an international organization. They note with appreciation the work of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO) and of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Biofuture Platform.

239. The Ministers further reaffirmed their support to sustainable, modern and affordable energy access and recognized the importance of stable and secure global energy supply chains in accordance with national needs, for developing countries, in particular for African countries, Least Developing Countries, LLDCs, Small Island Developing States and MICs. They expressed their will to tackle the energy access challenge by identifying the specific needs of each country by mobilizing technical, financial assistance and tools to deploy sustainable energy solutions to tackle the energy access deficit.

240. The Ministers affirmed that States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to ecosystems of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. They reaffirmed the importance of the protection of planet Earth and its ecosystems as our common home and that "Mother Earth" is a common expression in a number of countries and regions.

241. The Ministers also reaffirmed that the right of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over natural wealth and resources must be exercised in the interest of their national development and of the well-being of the people of the State concerned.

242. While emphasizing the sovereignty of their countries and peoples over their natural wealth, the Ministers are also aware of the duty to respect protect, conserve and sustainably manage and use these resources and ensure the conditions for nature and ecosystems to have the capacity to regenerate, for the benefit of present and future generations. The Ministers also recognized that the sustainable use of natural resources is an effective way to achieve economic growth in harmony with nature while contributing to the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions and of environmental degradation.

243. The Ministers reiterated the importance of promoting and taking concrete action for the full, effective and timely implementation of the New Urban Agenda adopted in Quito, Ecuador, at all levels while urging the United Nations development system to maintain support for its implementation. They recalled that many cities are facing challenges in managing population growth, ensuring there is adequate housing and resilient infrastructure to support these growing populations, and addressing the environmental impacts of expanding cities and vulnerability to disasters. The Ministers reaffirmed the significance of ensuring access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and improving living conditions in slums.

244. The Ministers recalled the convening of the Second UN-Habitat Assembly, in Nairobi, Kenya, from 2-6 June 2025 and its outcomes.

245. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the 13th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 18 to 22 May, 2026 under the theme "Housing the world: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities".

246. The Ministers reaffirmed that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions is the highest priority and the overarching objective of the repositioning of the UN development system (UNDS) to deliver on the 2030 Agenda. In this regard, they reiterated that it is of the utmost importance that the operational activities for development of the UN development system take into account the need and priorities to build, promote, and strengthen the capacity of developing countries in pursuit of their efforts to achieve sustainable development at the national level.

247. The Ministers highlighted that while the current geopolitical tensions are challenging, there are also always opportunities to come together in international solidarity. Hence, they reiterated the call, made by the Group for all Member States to not turn their backs on our collective action through the UN development pillar. They stressed that prioritization of emergency responses must not come at the expense of immediate and long-term development investments as this undermines the ability to address root causes of crises. Humanitarian responses should not be financed by defunding development solutions or climate finance through double counting. In many ways, cutting funding for development is the opposite of what the world needs.

248. The Ministers highlighted that the UN Development System has a key role to play in supporting countries in achieving the SDGs and overcoming their development challenges. and expressed appreciation for the efforts by the repositioned UNDS in helping the developing countries in this regard. The Ministers stressed that in order to respond effectively to the multiple and interlinked crises facing developing countries, there is a dire need for the UNDS to have access to predictable, adequate, and flexible and sustainable financial resources, and reiterated their concern regarding recent trends of major cuts in core allocation for development.

249. The Ministers reaffirmed that the operational activities for development of the UN system should provide a key contribution to the implementation of the ambitious and transformational 2030 Agenda through the strengthening of national capacity. They also reaffirmed that strengthening the role and capacity of the UNDS to assist countries in achieving their development goals requires continued improvement in its effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, inter-agency efforts and impact, along with a significant increase in quantity and quality of resources. In this regard, the fundamental characteristics of UN operational activities for development must retain, among others, their universal, voluntary and grant nature, their neutrality and their multilateralism, as well as their ability to respond to the development needs of programme countries in a flexible manner. Moreover, operational activities should be carried out for the benefit of recipient countries, at the request of those countries, and in accordance with their own national policies and priorities for development.

250. The Ministers recognized the efforts being made and stressed that all the mandates contained in the General Assembly resolutions 71/243, 72/279, 73/248, 74/238, 75/233, 76/4, 79/226 and ECOSOC resolutions E/RES/2019/15, E/RES/2020/23, E/RES/2022/25 and E/RES/2023/31 should continue to be translated into actionable commitments across the UNDS entities, and transparency, accountability and national ownership and leadership must be ensured during the whole process of implementation.

251. The Ministers emphasized that the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, formerly known as UNDAF, should be prepared and finalized in full consultation and agreement with national governments, through an open and inclusive dialogue between the host Government and the UNDS in accordance with national development policies, plans, priorities, and country needs, and the criteria regarding the presence and the composition of the United Nations country teams should be determined based on country development priorities and long-term needs.

252. The Ministers noted the progress made in reinvigorating the RC System and emphasized that it should increasingly be development-focused, with eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions as its overarching objective, and that geographical and gender balance should be addressed to enhance the representation of the developing countries in the system, especially on the selection of RCs and recruitment of UNDCO staff.

253. The Ministers also reiterated the request to ensure that all Resident Coordinators are provided with necessary training, funding and support by the UN, including in particular to Resident Coordinators who also serve as Humanitarian Coordinators or Deputy Special Representatives of the Secretary-General, to ensure that they are well-prepared and equipped to work and support Governments in countries facing humanitarian emergencies and countries in conflict and post-conflict situations.

254. The Ministers reaffirmed that ODA is a critical source of funding for the UNDS and urged traditional donors to come forward with the required funds to the Special Purpose Trust Fund and to address the current gap in funding.

255. The Ministers noted the advancements made in the revamping of the regional level of the UNDS and emphasized the importance of a more region-by-region approach. They continued to look forward to improving the regional level in a very transparent way, while embracing their uniqueness and their strengthens. In this regard, the Ministers reiterated that special efforts must be made to preserve the regional architecture that functions well, including, where applicable, the UN Regional Economic Commissions, as they serve as important hubs in the advancement of national and regional priorities.

256. The Ministers reaffirmed the role of the UNDS in particular UN-DESA to support the inter-governmental UN processes and enhance the capacity of developing countries to implement the 2030 Agenda, with a view to addressing national needs, priorities and challenges.

257. The Ministers reiterated the call to the United Nations development system to continue to support developing countries in their efforts to achieve internationally agreed development goals and their development objectives, and requested the system to address the special challenges facing the most vulnerable countries and, in particular, African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, the need for special attention to countries in conflict and post-conflict situations and countries and peoples under foreign occupation, as well as the specific challenges facing the middle-income countries, in line with the Sevilla Commitment of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

258. The Ministers reiterated their call upon the UNDS to continue to support developing countries, in particular countries in special situations and those facing specific challenges, in their efforts to achieve internationally agreed development goals and their development objectives. The Ministers stressed that the UNDS should continue to enhance its support for the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action for the LDCs for the Decade 2022-2031, the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States and the Awaza Programme of Action for LLDCs for the Decade 2024-2034, as well as the African Union Agenda 2063 and the programme of the New Partnership for Africa's Development, all of which are integral to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and called upon the entities of the United Nations development system to integrate and mainstream them fully into their operational activities for development. These specific programmes of action for LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS and African countries must remain the most important entry points for the international community to focus its attention and resources to assist these groups of countries.

259. The Ministers requested the United Nations development system to continue to develop its support to middle-income countries facing specific challenges in all their diversity, and recognized that a gradual shift from a traditional model of direct support and service provision towards a greater emphasis on integrated high-quality policy advice, strengthening institutions, capacity development and support for the leveraging of partnerships and financing is needed, and recalled the invitation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, under the leadership of the Secretary-General, to develop a joint framework of collaboration with multilateral development banks to improve synergies at the regional and country levels, including specific attention to middle-income countries, as set out in the Secretary-General's road map for financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 2019-2021.

260. The Ministers noted with concern the low funding of the UN development activities. They stressed that an efficient and well-funded United Nations Development System is key in supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in developing countries. They emphasized that the United Nations Development System support to developing countries should be in accordance with their national development needs and priorities. They also noted that developing countries continue to face funding challenges and broadening the funding contributor base for the United Nations Development System should not shift the funding burden to developing countries. In this regard, the Ministers called upon more developed countries to join the number of contributors to broaden the base of contributors to provide the funding required by the United Nations Development System to support the developing countries in their efforts to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The Ministers stressed that the developed countries should bear the primary responsibility of funding the United Nations Development System. They underscored that implementation by the UN Country teams of intergovernmental normative agreements and conventions should be upon request and in close coordination with the host governments in the programme countries.

261. The Ministers reiterated their call for developed countries and development partners to enhance the provision of core funding and reducing the levels of earmarking as the best solution to ensure that the UN Development System has adequate, flexible, predictable, and sustainable funding required to support programme countries in the pursuit of their national development priorities and needs. They emphasized the need for flexibility of reallocating resources specifically to fund the underfunded development activities of the entities.

262. The Ministers stressed that the call contained in the 2030 Agenda to reduce inequality within and between countries, as well as promoting inclusive, just and equitable societies is critical to empower people, in particular the most vulnerable. The Ministers underlined that in adopting the 2030 Agenda, with the pledge to "leave no one behind", the international community reaffirmed that tackling inequality is vital to all the efforts to build sustainable, prosperous and peaceful societies and thus committed to ensuring that the goals and targets were met for all nations and peoples and for all segments of society, reaching those furthest behind first.

263. The Ministers stressed that the interlinkages among the SDGs, and addressing the well-being and the rights of youth, women and girls, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities, persons with disabilities, older persons, migrants, refugees and those in vulnerable situations, are a prerequisite for achieving the 2030 Agenda.

264. The Ministers reiterated their full commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and welcomed the measures taken by the G77 countries to promote the empowerment of women and girls, as well as progress made by women and girls in many fields around the world. However, they noted that poverty, inequality, violence and discrimination linger in the world's current affairs, particularly affecting women and girls, especially those living in countries affected by armed conflict and living under colonial administration and foreign occupation, unilateral coercive measures or unilateral economic, financial or trade measures not in accordance with International Law and the Charter of the United Nations.

265. The Ministers reaffirmed that an environment that maintains world peace and promotes and protects human rights, the democracy and the peaceful settlement of disputes, in accordance with and principles of non-threat or use of force against territorial integrity or political independence and of respect for sovereignty, as set forth in of the Charter of the United Nations, is an important factor for the advancement of women.

266. The Ministers emphasized the mutually reinforcing relationship among women's economic empowerment and the full, effective and accelerated implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda. They acknowledged the important contribution of women and girls to sustainable development and reiterated that women's economic empowerment not only helps to fulfill women's rights, fosters gender equality and improves the lives and wellbeing of women, but it also accelerates achievement across other development outcomes.They reaffirmed in this regard that gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and women's full and equal participation and leadership in the economy and as partners for development are vital for achieving sustainable development, promoting peaceful, just and inclusive societies, enhancing sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and productivity, ending poverty in all its forms and dimensions everywhere and ensuring the well-being of all throughout their life course.

267. The Ministers recognized that violence and discrimination against women and girls continue to be a major obstacle to the achievement of women's empowerment and gender equality. They emphasized the need for measures to prevent and eliminate all forms of gender violence, in particular femicide, and to ensure that, girls, youth, Indigenous, Afro-descendant, migrant, and older women and women with disabilities, are not subject to multiple or aggravated forms of violence and discrimination.

268. The Ministers welcomed the hosting by the State of Qatar of the Second World Summit for Social Development scheduled to be held from 4 to 6 November 2025, to build a more just, equaitable, inclusive and sustainable world, by addressing the gaps assessing progress, and recommitting to the Copenhagen Declaration and its Programme of Action on Social Development and its implementation, and give momentum towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and look forward to the adoption of its political declaration, cofacilitated by the the Kindom of Morocco.

269. The Ministers recognized the vast potential of young people to contribute towards sustainable development and social cohesion and noted that unavailability of quality employment in most developing countries not only blocks the successful transition of young people from school to decent jobs, but also impedes economic growth and development as a whole. Therefore, it is important that efforts at every level are taken to improve the quality of and access to education, and to enhance the acquisition of skills for youth towards decent work.

270. The Ministers encouraged the international community, including the UN and development agencies, while taking into consideration the sovereign right of all countries to develop their own national legislation and policies, in accordance with international law, to enhance their support to education, training and skills development for youth, including digital and technical skills that improve employability and entrepreneurship.

271. The Ministers recognized the commitment made to strive to provide children and youth with a nurturing environment for the full realization of their rights and capabilities, helping our countries to reap the demographic dividend, including through safe schools and cohesive communities and families.

272. The Ministers took note with appreciation of the Buenos Aires Declaration on Child Labour, Forced Labour and Youth Employment adopted in November 2017.

273. The Ministers recalled that 2021 marked the 20th Anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

274. The Ministers expressed their commitment to the accelerated implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. In this regard, they reiterated their opposition to all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in all parts of the world and expressed deep concern on the resurgence of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance in all parts of the world. They reaffirmed that all forms of racism, discrimination and xenophobia as well as foreign occupation among others constitute serious violations of human rights, which should be rejected through all political and legal means. They condemned all forms of racism, and discrimination spread through the new communications technology, including the Internet.

275. The Ministers noted the Programme of Activities for the Implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent, including the establishment of a forum to serve as a consultation mechanism, the elaboration of a draft UN declaration on the rights of People of African descent and the adoption and implementation of policies and programmes to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance faced by people of African descent, further welcomed the proclamation of the 2nd Interntional Decade for People of African Descent.

276. The Ministers recognized the importance of interreligious and intercultural dialogue and its valuable contribution to promoting social cohesion, peace and development, and called upon the international community to consider, as appropriate and where applicable, interreligious and intercultural dialogue as an important tool in efforts aimed at achieving peace and social stability and the full realization of internationally agreed development goals. They welcomed in this regard all international, regional and national initiatives aimed at promoting interreligious, intercultural and interfaith harmony and combating discrimination against individuals on the basis of religion or belief.

277. The Ministers welcomed the 2022-2032 International Decade of Indigenous Languages to draw world attention to the critical loss of indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve, revitalize, promote indigenous languages and recognized the work carried out by UNESCO in this regard.

278. The Ministers recognized the positive contribution of migrants to inclusive growth and sustainable development in countries of origin, transit and destination.

279. The Ministers stressed that migration is an enabler of development. The roles and responsibilities of the countries of origin, transit and destination should be appropriately balanced. It is crucial to cooperate internationally to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration involving full respect for human rights and the humane treatment of migrants, regardless of their migration status, refugees and displaced persons. Such cooperation should also strengthen the resilience of communities hosting refugees, particularly in developing countries.

280. The Ministers recognized that international migration is a multidimensional reality of major relevance to the development of origin, transit and destination countries that must be addressed in a coherent, comprehensive and balanced manner. They endeavoured to increase cooperation on access to and portability of earned benefits, enhance the recognition of foreign qualifications, education and skills, lower the costs of recruitment for migrants and combat unscrupulous recruiters, and smuggling of migrants, in accordance with national circumstances and legislation. They further endeavored to implement effective social communication strategies on the contribution of migrants to sustainable development in all its dimensions, in particular in countries of destination, in order to combat racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, facilitate social integration and protect migrants' human rights through national frameworks. They reaffirmed the need to promote and protect effectively the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, especially those of women and children, regardless of their migration status.

281. The Ministers expressed their commitment to protecting the human rights of migrant children, given their vulnerability, particularly of unaccompanied as well as separated migrant children, and to providing for their health, education and psychosocial development, ensuring that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in policies of integration, return and family reunification.

282. The Ministers welcomed the Intergovernmental Conference to adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration held in Marrakesh, Morocco, on 10 and 11 December 2018 and took note of the convening of the first International Migration Review Forum in 2022 which concluded to the adoption of progress declaration by the General Assembly, and the convening of the upcoming International Migration Review Forum to be held in New York, May 2026.

283. The Ministers reaffirmed General Assembly Resolution 46/182, which remains the global framework for humanitarian assistance and coordination, and the guiding principles for the provision of humanitarian assistance, namely humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence as well as the need for promotion and respect for international humanitarian law.

284. The Ministers reaffirmed the necessity for the UN system and other relevant stakeholders to continue to enhance the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance in order to effectively address the needs of the increasing number of people affected by humanitarian emergencies.

285. The Ministers also underlined that response to humanitarian emergencies must be based on respect for the principles of international law, namely the sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of States. In this context, they stressed that international cooperation, technical and financial support from States, as well as the UN remain indispensable. At the same time, they noted that the response must be channelled in a way that does not undermine or replace the national or local mechanisms already put in place but rather strengthen them to afford governments the ability to respond promptly and more effectively and make significant and positive change for affected communities. In this regard, the Ministers recalled the primary role of affected states in humanitarian assistance, as well as national leadership in the initiation, organization and coordination of humanitarian assistance.

286. The Ministers stressed, in light of growing humanitarian needs, the importance of increased and predictable humanitarian financing through innovative and diversified means from other States is becoming more urgent to assist developing countries in enhancing their capacities and mobilizing their own resources. They also stressed the importance of ensuring that humanitarian assistance reaches its intended beneficiaries.

287. The Ministers reaffirmed that humanitarian emergencies arising out of natural and man-made disasters and other causes and the outbreak of epidemics, and other global health threats, deserve to be given adequate attention by the International Community.

288. The Ministers reaffirmed that relief, recovery, rehabilitation, reconstruction and longer-term development are different means to the one ultimate end and their complementarity should be underscored to ensure effective coordination of humanitarian assistance. While acknowledging that there is a need to narrow the humanitarian-development divide, they stressed that the line that separates their mandates and priorities must not be blurred. The Ministers reiterated their firm conviction that there is a new way of working that brings them closer together while allowing them to do their respective functions in accordance with their comparative advantages in an integrated and coordinated manner.

289. The Ministers recalled the 2025 Session of the Humanitarian Affairs Segment of ECOSOC, and noted the launch of the Call to Action under the authority of the Vice-President responsible for ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment.

290. The Ministers recalled that in the 2030 Agenda, the international community committed to strengthen efforts to address the burden of non-communicable and communicable diseases, including ending HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Hepatitis as part of Universal Health Coverage, to address the social and economic determinants of these epidemics and support the research and development of new vaccines.

291. The Ministers also underlined that in the 2030 Agenda the international community committed to reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through diagnosis, prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being throughout their life course, by addressing the risk factors as well as the social and economic ones.

292. The Ministers noted with concern that non-communicable diseases pose an enormous burden on all countries. However, these costs are particularly challenging for developing nations, especially as they have to face exorbitant costs of health technologies. They underlined that the global response to non-communicable diseases remains an area of particular challenge since the current level of progress is insufficient to meet the 2030 Agenda's relevant goals and commitments made under the high-level meetings of the UN General Assembly on non-communicable diseases. Lack of capacity and near zero increase in ODA to address the issue as well as the protection of NCDs policies from commercial and other vested interest of the industry continued to be key challenges.

293. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the Fourth High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health at the United Nations Headquarters on 25 September 2025. They recognized the importance of addressing key determinants of health, including through the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, eliminating hunger and malnutrition, and addressing inequities, as a priority for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases as well as the promotion of mental health and well-being. The Ministers underscored the need for health promotion, universal health coverage, and integrated health systems. They stressed the urgency of scaled-up financing, stronger development cooperation, and ensuring equitable access to medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and health technologies, as well as promoting needs-driven research and development. They also prioritized a health approach that takes into account national priorities and circumstances, while allowing flexibility for Member States in the design and implementation of their public policies.

294. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly to end Tuberculosis at the United Nations Headquarters on the 22nd of September 2023. In this regard, the Ministers recalled that in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community committed to ending tuberculosis epidemic, achieve Universal Health Coverage, address the social and economic determinants of the epidemic and support the research and development of new vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases. The Ministers further highlighted the need to promote efforts to support developing countries in achieving SDG3, including through enhanced official development assistance, financial and technical support and support to research, development and innovation programs in developing countries, in addition to facilitating the transfer of technology and know-how.

295. The Ministers emphasized the need to promote access to quality health care, including to affordable, safe, effective and quality medicines, diagnostics and other technologies, including health technologies. In this regard, the Ministers reaffirmed the political declarations of the High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage of 2019 and 2023 and acknowledged the launch of the Global Coalition for Local and Regional Production, Innovation and Equitable Access.

296. The Ministers recognized that generic drugs have played a key role in ensuring access to medicines in the developing world. They have called on all parties to urgently remove all obstacles that limit the capacity of countries to use, to the full extent, the TRIPS flexibilities, as confirmed by the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, as well as acknowledge the need to effectively implement the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health as important tools to help develop national capacities in developing countries in order to strengthen public health and ensure the universal access of the population to medicines and medical technologies without any kind of restriction to specific diseases.

297. The Ministers underscored the need to ensure that all research and development efforts should be needs-driven, evidence-based and guided by the principles of affordability, effectiveness and efficiency and equity, and should be considered as a shared responsibility. In this regard, they have stressed on the importance of delinking the cost of investment in research and development from the price and volume of sales so as to facilitate equitable and affordable access to new medicines, diagnostic tools, vaccines, as well as other innovative care and prevention approaches results to be gained through research and development, as highlighted in previous health-related political declarations.

298. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, held at the United Nations Headquarters on 20 September 2023 and recall the adoption of UN General Assembly Political Declaration A/RES/78/3 of 5 October 2023 on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, co-facilitated by the Kingdom of Morocco. In this regard, the Ministers affirmed the need for timely, urgent and continued leadership, global solidarity, increased international cooperation and multilateral commitment and with support from relevant United Nations entities and other relevant international and regional organizations, to implement coherent and robust national, regional and global actions, driven by science and the need to prioritize equity, to promote and protect human rights, including the right to development, through inter alia the timely, equitable and unhindered access to medical countermeasures and health technologies, for developing countries to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and fully address the direct and indirect consequences of future pandemics and to ensure that developing countries are not left behind.

299. The Ministers took note with appreciation of the adoption of the modalities resolution A/Res/79/333 of 5 September 2025, which decided to hold a one-day High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response in September 2026, under the theme "Fostering a multilateral and intergenerational approach to prevent, prepare for and respond to pandemics and public health emergencies, through the principles of equity and solidarity". In this regard, they look forward the adoption of a concise and action-oriented political declaration.

300. The Ministers recalled the convening of the High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance on 26 September 2024 and noted its outcome as an important opportunity to renew collective commitment and galvanize political will at the highest levels to accelerate global action on AMR, for the promotion and protection of human health within, inter alia, the framework of a One Health approach according to national action plans. They stressed that this High-Level Meeting should serve as a pivotal moment to reaffirm our global commitment to combatting AMR through enhanced cooperation and the implementation of comprehensive, multisectoral strategies that reflect the One-Health approach.

301. The Ministers emphasized that transnational corporations have a responsibility to respect all human rights and fundamental freedoms and should refrain from causing environmental degradation and environmental disasters and affecting the well-being of peoples.

302. The Ministers recalled with appreciation the decision of the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 26/9, to establish an Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Respect to Human Rights (OEIGWG). The Ministers took note of the presentation of a draft international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises, both focusing on the victims of business-related human rights abuses.

303. The Ministers expressed their concern about the seriousness of the problems and threats to the stability and security of societies posed by corruption. In that regard, the Ministers stressed the need to implement the recommendations included in the Political Declaration approved during the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Corruption that took place in June 2021, entitled "Our common commitment to effectively addressing challenges and implementing measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation." The Ministers also recognized the importance of implementing Resolution 9/2 of the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention Against Corruption that took place in Sharm El-Sheikh in December 2021, entitled "Our common commitment to effectively addressing challenges and implementing measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthening international cooperation: follow-up to the special session of the General Assembly against corruption".

304. The Ministers reiterated their support to the UN Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law established by General Assembly resolution 2099 (XX) of 20 December 1965 for the purpose of contributing to greater knowledge of international law as a means of strengthening international peace and security and promoting friendly relations and cooperation among States. They recalled that the Programme and its components are one of the cornerstones of the efforts of the UN to promote international law and that jurists, academics, diplomats and other public officials from developing countries greatly benefit from the regional courses of international law, fellowships, publications and the Audiovisual Library of International Law. The Ministers further welcomed the inclusion of resources under the programme budget for the current year for the organization of the International Fellowship Programme, Regional Courses in International Law for Africa, for Asia-Pacific and for Latin America and the Caribbean each year and for the continuation and further development of the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law.

305. The Ministers expressed their concern that the deteriorating liquidity situation of the Organization has had a significant impact on the implementation of the activities of the programme. The Ministers further called for the inclusion of resources under the programme budget for the next year. They also expressed their commitment to include the seminars and regional training on international treaty laws and practice and the legal publications and training materials, as well as the necessary funding for the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship, in the budget of the UN.

306. The Ministers reiterated their commitment to intensify international efforts directed at safeguarding cyberspace and promoting its exclusive use for the achievement of peaceful purposes and as a vehicle to contribute to both economic and social development. They highlighted that international cooperation in accordance with domestic law and as far as international obligations require, as well as in full respect of human rights, and considering the needs of the demanding country, the importance of promoting capacity building and sustainability of the projects of cooperation, is the only viable option for fostering the positive effects of information and communications technologies, preventing their potential negative effects, promoting their peaceful and legitimate use and guaranteeing that both scientific and technological progress are directed at preserving peace and promoting the welfare and development of humanity.

307. The Ministers reaffirmed that the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly is the sole Main Committee of the Organization entrusted with responsibilities for administrative, financial and budgetary matters. In this regard, the Ministers requested that any budgetary, financial and administrative matters, including those related to the establishment of a peacekeeping operation or a special political mission, be discussed solely in the framework of the Fifth Committee, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations.

308. The Ministers expressed their serious concern at the financial health of the Organization, in particular the deep and persistent liquidity problems in the regular budget and, while recognizing the need to extend sympathetic understanding to those temporarily unable to meet their financial obligations as a consequence of genuine economic difficulties, and commending Member States of the UN who have made real efforts to reduce their outstanding contributions despite facing difficulties at home, they urged all Member States of the UN to pay their assessed contributions in full, on time, and without conditions, in particular those Member States of the UN who, for political reasons, consistently and deliberately withhold payments.

309. The Ministers reiterated the importance of avoiding the late settlement of payments to troop and police contributing countries, most of which are developing countries. This creates a situation whereby the developing countries, several of which are financially challenged, are in fact subsidizing peacekeeping operations. In this regard, recognized the positive impact of the management of cash resources from active peacekeeping missions as a pool for the timely settling of these payments, which should remain a priority of the organization.

310. The Ministers stressed that borrowing from the accounts of closed peacekeeping missions and the cross-borrowing mechanism between the regular budget account and peacekeeping budget accounts are not appropriate.

311. The Ministers recognized the efforts led by the Secretary-General on management reform and took note of the adoption of resolution A/72/266 B by the General Assembly. They emphasized that reforms should result in better mandate delivery, enhanced transparency, accountability, efficiency and oversight. They underscored the centrality of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, as well as the need to monitor and evaluate mandate implementation. They stressed the importance of addressing equitable geographical representation and gender parity at all levels of the Secretariat and ensuring fair and equitable access to UN procurement opportunities for developing countries.

312. The Ministers agreed to uphold and promote the principle of equitable geographical representation in the selection and appointment of personnel in the United Nations Secretariat, as well as in all the entities of the United Nations system. This principle stands as an expression of fairness and of the equality of nations, large and small, as provided in the Charter, which must be respected in the conduct of the operations of the United Nations. The system of desirable ranges, as established by General Assembly resolution 42/220 A and expanded by General Assembly resolution 77/278, is one of the yardsticks to measure progress in the implementation of this principle in the context of the regular budget. Beyond the regular budget, the Ministers agreed that the principle of equitable geographical representation has to be ensured in such a way that leads to an Organization that represents all the peoples of the world, where its senior leaders, from D-1 and above, stem equitably from all regions and where the staff composition reflects a true balance of all the geographical areas of the world.

313. The Ministers reiterated that the goal of equitable geographic representation is a Charter obligation as reflected in Article 101, paragraph 3, and called for appropriate measures towards attaining that goal effectively and in a timely manner. They urged in this regard the Secretariat to implement a comprehensive strategy to ensure equitable geographic representation through the increase of the representation of developing and least developed countries including by addressing the un- and underrepresentation of these countries, in particular at senior levels, in order for the UN to have a truly global Secretariat adequately representing the diversity of its membership, a condition necessary for the UN to succeed in implementing its global mandates.

314. The Ministers reaffirmed that any Secretariat and management reform efforts, including on its budget process, must not be intended to change the intergovernmental, multilateral and international nature of the Organization, but must strengthen the ability of Member States of the UN to perform their oversight and monitoring role and that prior consideration by and approval of Member States of the UN is essential in all cases where the measures to be implemented fall under the prerogatives of the Assembly. In this regard, they recalled resolution 66/257. They also reaffirmed the right of the entire membership of the United Nations to pronounce itself on the administration of the Organization, including on budgetary matters, and the need for continuous interaction and dialogue between the Secretariat and the General Assembly aimed at fostering a positive environment for the negotiations, the decision-making process and the implementation of the reform measures.

315. The Ministers strongly supported the oversight role performed by the General Assembly, as well as its relevant intergovernmental and expert bodies, in planning, programming, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation. In this context, they renewed their commitment to strengthen the role of the Committee for Programme and Coordination. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of ensuring the preservation of the sequential nature of the review processes of the proposed programme budget. The Ministers also urged the rest of the membership of the UN to actively participate in the sessions of the Committee.

316. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of the strategic framework as the principal policy directive of the Organization and that its content should fully reflect the mandates approved by Member States of the UN, including the UN financial rules and regulations.

317. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of preserving the budget methodology, the established budgetary procedures and practices and the rules and regulations governing the budget process, and stressed that the level of resources to be approved by the General Assembly must be commensurate with all mandated programmes and activities in order to ensure their full and effective implementation. In this sense, they affirmed that the existing recosting methodology ensures that mandated activities are not negatively impacted by currency fluctuations and inflation.

318. The Ministers underlined that the current methodology for the preparation of the scale of assessments reflects changes in the relative economic situations of the Member States of the UN. The Ministers further reaffirmed the principle of "capacity to pay" as the fundamental criterion in the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations. They pointed out that the collective assessment rate of developing countries has consistently and significantly increased over the past years, particularly since 2000 as per the reports of the Committee on Contributions. They stressed that the Group of 77 and China rejects any change to the elements of the current methodology and any other approaches for the preparation of the scale of assessments aimed at increasing the contributions of developing countries. They are committed to safeguarding the principle of "capacity to pay". In this regard, they emphasized that the core elements of the current methodology of the scale of assessment, such as base period, Gross National Income, conversion rates, low per capita income adjustment, gradient, floor, ceiling for LDCs and debt stock adjustment must be kept intact and are not negotiable.

319. The Ministers stressed that the current maximum assessment rate, or ceiling, had been fixed as a political compromise and is contrary to the principle of the capacity to pay and is a fundamental source of distortion in the scale of assessments. In this context, they urged the General Assembly to undertake a review of this arrangement, in accordance with paragraph 2 of General Assembly resolution 55/5 C.

320. The Ministers emphasized that organizations which have an enhanced observer status at the United Nations giving them the rights and privileges usually only applied to Observer States, such as the right to speak in the general debate of the General Assembly and the right of reply, should also have the same financial obligations to the UN as Observer States. In this context, they urged the General Assembly to consider a decision on an assessment for such organizations.

321. The Ministers affirmed that the current principles and guidelines for the apportionment of the expenses of peacekeeping operations approved by the General Assembly in its relevant resolutions should constitute a basis for any discussion on the peacekeeping scale. In this regard, the Ministers stressed that the peacekeeping scale must clearly reflect the special responsibilities of the permanent members of the Security Council for the maintenance of peace and security. The Ministers also recalled that the economically less developed countries have limited capacity to contribute towards the budgets of peacekeeping operations. In this context, the Ministers emphasized that any discussion on the system of discounts applied to the peacekeeping scale should take into account the conditions of developing countries whose current positions must not be negatively affected. The Ministers stressed, in this regard, that no member of the Group that is not a permanent member of the Security Council, should therefore be categorized above level C.

322. The Ministers expressed their concern for the growing restrictive nature of "earmarked" contributions within different UN entities, such as UNDP, UNFPA, UNOPS and UNICEF among others. They also emphasized that regular resources are the bedrock of those entities and are essential to maintain and fulfill their universal mandate and work. Hence, the declining trend of regular resources and a high concentration of earmarked funds put the organization at risk of not having the capacity to deliver on its programmes. The Ministers appealed to assure stable and predictable contributions and noted the important need to emphasize the quality, flexibility, predictability, transparency and alignment of such contributions.

323. The Ministers expressed concerned at the serious shortfall of core resources in the case of the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes dedicated to development-related activities, agreed to call for an immediate remedy to this negative trend, and urged donor countries to fulfil their commitments.

324. The Ministers emphasized the importance of the United Nations collaborating and coordinating with regional and sub-regional actors and in this regard urged the Secretary-General to use his reform initiatives as an enabling tool for the deepening of the partnership, cooperation and coordination between the United Nations and UN recognized inter-governmental regional and sub-regional actors in accordance with relevant mandates and memoranda of understanding (MOUs).

325. The Ministers recalled the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting held in Accra, Ghana in the last quarter of 2023. They noted that the Ministerial meeting which was the first to be held in the continent of Africa provided an opportunity for participants to share insights into innovative ways to make modern day peacekeeping operations more effective and responsive to the security challenges of our time including the deteriorating security situation in some parts of Africa and globally.

326. The Ministers recalled that the development of Africa is an established priority of the United Nations, and reaffirmed their commitment to addressing the unique needs of Africa.

327. The Ministers recalled the special needs of Africa and recognized that, while economic growth had improved, there was a need to sustain the recovery, which was fragile and uneven, to face the ongoing adverse impacts of multiple crises on development and the serious challenges that these impacts posed to the fight against poverty and hunger, which could further undermine the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals in Africa, including Agenda 2063 and the SDGs and the unfinished business of the MDGs.

328. The Ministers reiterated the call on the international community and development partners to support development activities and initiatives in order to strengthen African efforts in addressing the root causes of conflict in the continent and stressed the urgent need for the UN system to support the efforts of African countries to achieve durable peace and sustainable development in Africa.

329. The Ministers noted with great concern the multidimensional impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on African countries, including significant impacts on poverty, food security, education, unemployment, trade, disrupted supply chains, tourism and financial flows, as well as its social impacts, including violence against women and girls, causing more challenges for African countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063, and recognized the great efforts made by African countries in combating the COVID-19 pandemic to save lives and achieve sustainable, inclusive and resilient recovery.

330. The Ministers expressed profound concern that the commitment to doubling aid to Africa by 2010, as articulated at the summit of the Group of Eight held in Gleneagles, United Kingdom, had not been entirely reached and in this regard stressed the need to make rapid progress in order to fulfill that and other donors' commitments to increasing aid through a variety of means, including the provision of new additional resources and the transfer of technology to and the building of capacity in African countries, and to supporting their sustainable development. They called for continued support for Africa's development initiatives, including Agenda 2063 and its 10-year plan of action, the New Partnership for Africa's Development and the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa. On the other hand, they welcomed the support that some developing countries had extended to Africa through South-South and triangular cooperation programmes.

331. The Ministers underlined the need to address the economic, social and environmental impact of climate change, desertification and land degradation in Africa, and highlights the importance of supporting the implementation of initiatives aimed at enhancing agriculture resilience in Africa, in particular the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme and other initiatives launched under the leadership of the African Union Commission such as the Great Green Wall and the Land Policy Initiative, as well as initiatives launched by African countries such as the Adaptation of African Agriculture and the Security, Stability and Sustainability initiatives.

332. The Ministers recalled the Beijing Declaration and the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021) adopted by the African countries and China at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, covering fields such as industrial promotion, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, health care and green development, which give strong impetus to the implementation of the Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda. The Ministers also recalled the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19, held on 17 June 2020 and the Eighth Ministerial Conference of FOCAC, held on 29 and 30 November 2021 in Dakar, Senegal and its outcomes including China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035, Dakar Declaration and Dakar Action Plan.

333. The Ministers welcomed the 2024 FOCAC Summit, held on 4 to 6 September 2024 in Beijing, China and its outcomes, including the Beijing Declaration on Jointly Building an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era and the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027), which also give strong impetus to the implementation of the Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda.

334. The Ministers reaffirmed the call for strengthening and accelerating the development of start-up ecosystems in developing countries and, in that regard, they noted the Algiers Declaration for Start-up Development adopted at the African Start-ups Conference held in Algiers, Algeria, on 5-7 December 2024.

335. The Ministers welcomed the admission of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 at the New Delhi Summit on 9-10 September 2023 as well as its participation in its first year as a permanent member of the G20 at the Rio de Janeiro Summit on 18-19 November 2024, promoting African efforts to advocate for a more inclusive and equitable global economic order.

336. The Ministers recalled the adoption of the Doha Programme of Action of Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2022-2031 at the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries and its endorsement by the General Assembly in its resolution 76/258 of 1 April 2022, in which the Assembly called upon all the relevant stakeholders to commit to implementing the Programme of Action.

337. The Ministers stressed that the timely and full implementation of the Doha Programme of Action will help the LDCs to address the impacts of the COVID-19 and return to a pathway to achieve the SDGs, address climate change challenges, and makes strides towards sustainable and irreversible graduation.

338. The Ministers emphasized that the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action for the decade 2022-2031 (DPoA), constitutes an opportunity to place the LDCs at the center of international cooperation and foster the prosperity and wellbeing of their population. They stressed that, as it coincides with the remaining years of action to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs, its implementation will require a robust international cooperation and partnership on the basis of mutual trust and benefit, focusing on the needs of least developed countries.

339. The Ministers stressed the need to first confront the unsustainable debt burden in many LDCs and take urgent and necessary measures to reduce the debt situation if they are to return to normalcy. Second, it is imperative that developed countries meet their ODA commitments. The Ministers urged the developed countries to fulfil their ODA commitments to allocate between 0.15% and 0.20% of their GDP to ODA for the least developed countries.

340. The Ministers also emphasized the need to enhance technology transfer and capacity building, as well as technological and scientific cooperation from developed countries to LDCs to promote sustainable development in its three dimensions and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda. There is an urgent need to consolidate the LDCs' involvement in global economic, social, environmental decision-making processes and address the structural problems aggravated by the current unjust economic order.

341. The Ministers reaffirmed that it will also provide an opportunity for improvement of the partnership of the international community in support of the LDCs in search of their prosperity.

342. The Ministers stressed that the success of the Doha Programme of Action will depend highly on the LDCs ownership and leadership to develop and implement policies effectively according to their national priorities and strategies. Nevertheless, national efforts of LDCs should be complemented by supportive global programs, and technical cooperation in integrated measures and policies through enhanced, predictable, definite and targeted support aimed at expanding their development opportunities.

343. The Ministers recalled the progress made over the past decade with respect to graduation and stress that continued support and incentives will be important to accelerate the number of least developed countries reaching the graduation thresholds and for ensuring sustainable and irreversible graduation with momentum. The Ministers reaffirmed the DPoA target to enable 15 additional least developed countries to meet the criteria for graduation by 2031.

344. The Ministers reiterated that ODA continues to be the largest and a critical source of external financing for the development of the LDCs and that it provides a buffer to weather the impacts of the unstable and volatile global economic environment. They expressed their deep concern that overall share of ODA to LDCs in donor's GNI is only 0.08 per cent in 2019, while noting that as per the preliminary data in 2021 net bilateral aid flows from DAC countries to the group of least developed countries were USD 33 billion, and increased by 2.5% in real terms compared to 2020. They also recalled the provisions of the Sevilla Commitment that encouraged ODA providers to consider setting a target to provide between 015 and 0.20 per cent of ODA / GNI to LDCs and expressed encouragement to those providers that are allocating at least 50 per cent of their ODA to LDCs. They called upon all development partners to fulfil these targets.

345. The Ministers welcomed the increase in the LDCs' share in world exports of goods and commercial services which stood at 1.02% in 2022 up from 0.95% in 2021, marking the first time LDCs share in world exports reached 1%, representing LDCs' continued efforts to integrate into the multilateral trading system and to leverage trade as a catalyst for growth and sustainable development (SG report on DPoA para 47&49). However this is further away from the target of 2 percent of global exports called for in the Doha Programme of Action and target 17.11 of the SDGs. The Ministers also reaffirmed that fulfilling the commitments of the ministerial decisions of the WTO for duty-free and quota-free market access for all products from all least developed countries for the least developed country preferential rules of origin was urgently needed to reverse the decline in the global trade share of those countries. In addition, fulfilling those commitments would also contribute to the achievement of the target contained in the DPoA and the 2030 Agenda of doubling the share of LDCs in global export. In that regard, it is important that at least 50 percent of the Aid for Trade by development partners be allotted to the LDCs. The Ministers called for significant progress on LDCs issues, preferential rules of origin and the application of the LDCs' services waiver at the next WTO Ministerial Conference.

346. The Ministers expressed concern that, despite minor signs of recovery the latest global financial and economic crisis, have contributed to undermining development in all developing countries and recalled that the modest development gains, in particular those in the LDCs made over the years are being reversed, pushing a larger number of their people to extreme poverty. The Ministers expressed their concern that, under the current growth trajectory, nearly 35 per cent of the population in LDCs could remain in extreme poverty by 2030. Many LDCs continue to be lagging behind in meeting most of the internationally agreed development goals, including the unfinished business of the MDGs.

347. The Ministers expressed deep concern that LDCs are disproportionately affected by a variety of systemic shocks, including the global financial and economic crisis, excessive commodity price volatility, health epidemics, disasters, natural and man-made hazards and other environmental shocks. These shocks not only halt the pace of economic progress and deteriorate poverty, but also undermine the capacity of LDCs to achieve the 2030 Agenda. In this regard, the Ministers underlined the need for establishing a comprehensive multi-stakeholder resilience-building mechanism for LDCs, leveraging the existing measures and initiatives.

348. The Ministers stressed the need for the international community to remain vigilant in monitoring the debt situation of the LDCs as five of them are in debt distress and twenty-two are at high risk of debt distress situation and the ratio of debt service to exports sharply worsened in the last decade. The Ministers called upon the international community to continue to take effective measures, preferably within existing frameworks, when applicable, to address the debt problem of those countries, including through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief, debt restructuring and sound debt management, as appropriate, for the multilateral and bilateral debt owed by the LDCs to creditors, both public and private. They reiterated their commitment to work through existing initiatives, such as the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. They reaffirmed the importance of transparency in debt management. The Ministers underlined that the debt sustainability framework for the LDCs should systematically take into account their structural constraints and longer-term investment requirements for the implementation of the SDGs.

349. The Ministers recalled the operationalization of the Technology Bank for the least developed countries, and emphasized the need to sustain its financing in order to fulfill its potential to foster productive capacity, structural transformation, poverty eradication and sustainable development. They also called upon all relevant stakeholders to ensure continued financial and in-kind support for the effective functioning of the Technology Bank.

350. The Ministers welcomed the adoption of the Awaza Programme of Action for the Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2024-2034 adopted by the General Assembly on 24 December 2024 under resolution A/RES/79/233. They noted that the Programme of Action provides a renewed and action-oriented framework for international support to address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and to strengthen partnerships between the landlocked developing countries and transit countries and their development partners.

351. The Ministers welcomed the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries held on 5 to 8 August 2025 in Awaza, Turkmenistan under the theme "Driving Progress Through Partnerships", and also welcome its outcomes, including the Awaza Political Declaration, which also give strong impetus to the full implementation of the Awaza programme of Action throughout the coming decade in line with its five mutually reinforcing priority areas: (a) Structural transformation and science, technology and innovation; (b) Trade, trade facilitation and regional integration; (c) Transit, transport and connectivity; (d) Enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change and disasters; (e) Means of implementation as well as the commitment to advancing the concrete deliverables outlined in the Awaza Programme of Action, with respect to establishing regional agriculture research hubs, based on interest expressed by some countries; creating a high-level panel of experts and exploring the establishment of an infrastructure investment finance facility for landlocked developing countries

352. The Ministers recognized the special development needs and challenges of LLDCs arising from their landlockedness, remoteness from world markets and geographical constraints that impose serious impediments for export earnings, private capital inflow and domestic resource mobilization of LLDCs and therefore adversely affect their overall sustainable development and expressed concern that their efforts towards sustainable development are affected by the frequent falling of commodity prices and that the LLDCs are highly exposed to climate change and disproportionately affected by its adverse impacts and furthermore noted that the adverse global economic conditions, including stalled growth, surging inflation, excessive volatility of energy and food prices, supply chain disruptions and elevated shipping and trade costs, are constraining landlocked developing countries to recover from the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 pandemic and are at risk of further marginalization from global trade and global value chains.

353. The Ministers stressed the importance of developing trade-related physical and digital infrastructure and facilitating inclusive, equitable and affordable connectivity for landlocked developing countries, and invited multilateral development banks to increase investment in infrastructure, including roads, railways, waterways and ports, energy transit and connectivity infrastructure, as well as digital infrastructure, such as fibre-optic cables and satellite-based systems.

354. The Ministers stressed that transit corridors are an important means for expediting the movement of goods and people across international borders by connecting key freight transport points in landlocked developing countries and transit countries, as well as other countries in the region.

355. The Ministers noted that the cost of reaching international markets for landlocked developing countries does not depend only on their geography, policies, infrastructure and administrative procedures, but also on those of neighbouring and transit countries (based on A/RES/79/233 Paragraph 148) and emphasized the need for regional integration to encompass cooperation among countries in a broader range of areas than just trade and trade facilitation, to include investment, research and development, and policies aimed at accelerating regional industrial development and inclusive, equitable and affordable regional connectivity.

356. The Ministers called upon the development partners, transit countries and international organizations to mainstream the Awaza Programme of Action and establish special facilities for the LLDCs, as appropriate, to assist them with execution and scaling-up of trade facilitation initiatives and effective implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, and invited multilateral financial and development institutions and regional development banks to establish dedicated infrastructure funding for the LLDCs. The Ministers noted the outcome of the Twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference that mandated the WTO Trade Facilitation Committee to hold a Dedicated Session on transit issues annually until the next review of the Trade Facilitation Agreement is completed in 2026 to discuss best practices, as well as the constraints and challenges faced by all landlocked WTO Members.

357. The Ministers welcomed the decision of the 13th Session of the Ministerial Conference of the WTO, instructing the Committee on Trade and Development to hold focused sessions, to assess trade-related challenges identified for the fuller integration of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) into the multilateral trading system. The Ministers look forward to the submission of report by the Committee at the Fourteenth Session of the Ministerial Conference.

358. Recognizing that the Awaza Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2025-2035, for the first time, includes a dedicated priority area on enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change and disasters, and noting the establishment of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as a significant step towards fostering coordinated engagement and collective action by LLDCs on climate-related issues.

359. The Ministers stressed that as the LLDCs head into the remaining 5 years of the 2030 Agenda, as well as the commencement of the Awaza Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries 2024-2034, efforts towards both need to be reoriented to incorporate the long-term impact of COVID-19, building of more equal, inclusive and sustainable institutions and the nurturing of resilient economies. Towards this end, a transformative recovery aimed at reducing vulnerability to future crises and ensuring that LLDCs can make the necessary progress towards achieving the SDGs and respond to the ambition and the urgency of the Awaza Programme of Action is paramount.

360. The Ministers emphasized the importance of fostering strong synergy and coherence in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, Sevilla commitment and the Awaza Programme of Action and encouraged coordination and coherence in the follow-up of their implementation. The Ministers stressed that the availability of and use of accessible, timely, reliable and high-quality disaggregated data to measure poverty in all its forms and dimensions as well as progress on sustainable development underpin the efforts to leave no one behind and called upon the development partners and international organizations to assist LLDCs in building and strengthening their official national capacities for data collection, disaggregation, dissemination and analysis. They called upon a revitalized Global Partnership based on renewed and strengthened partnerships between landlocked developing countries and the transit countries, their development partners and other stakeholders for the full, successful and timely implementation of the Awaza Programme of Action.

361. The Ministers called upon Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, major groups and other donors to contribute financial resources in a timely manner to support the full and timely implementation of the five priority areas of action for the Awaza Programe of Action.

362. The Ministers stressed that, the LLDCs like many developing countries are being left behind. In this context, they emphasized that full implementation of the Awaza programme of action remains critical for the LLDCs in their national efforts towards accelerating the achievement of the SDGs in the remaining five years. Therefore, this calls for enhanced global partnership for development, strong political will, adequate provision and mobilization of all means of implementation and continued international as well as regional support to the LLDCs to fully implement the Awaza programme of action and the 2030 Agenda. They urged the international community, in particular the developed countries to scale up their support to LLDCs by fulfilling all previous and new commitments in this regard. They stressed that it is critical that the support so needed by the LLDCs be provided in line with their special national and regional needs, interests, challenges and priorities.

363. The Ministers welcomed the decision of the UN General Assembly to proclaim 6 August as the International Day of Awareness of the Special Development Needs and Challenges of Landlocked Developing Countries, to be observed annually beginning in 2025 during the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries and expressed their commitment to collaborate with the other relevant stakeholders on the commemoration of the International Day with the aim to raise awareness of the importance of addressing the special development needs and challenges of landlocked developing countries.

364. The Ministers expressed their deep appreciation to the Government of Turkmenistan for hosting the third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries held from 5-8 August 2025.

365. The Ministers reaffirmed that SIDS remain a "special case" for sustainable development in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities, including their small size, remoteness, narrow resource and export base, external economic shocks, and exposure to global environmental challenges, including to a large range of impacts from climate change and more frequent and intense natural disasters. Climate change and its adverse impacts continue to pose a significant risk to SIDS and their efforts to achieve sustainable development and, represent the gravest threat to the survival and viability of their people, livelihoods and natural ecosystems, including through the loss of territory.

366. The Ministers were concerned that SIDS continue to face the unrelenting and compounding impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, disasters and natural hazards, health and other social related challenges and economic vulnerabilities, as well as the progressive deterioration in their ability to withstand external shocks and enhance their resilience. Successive global crises, along with the COVID-19 pandemic have further exacerbated and negatively compounded the sustainable development of SIDS.

367. The Ministers reaffirmed the outcome document of the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States held in St. John's from 27 to 30 May 2024, the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) - A Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity, and urged the timely action to ensure its full and effective implementation, as well as its monitoring, follow-up and review.

368. The Ministers emphasized that the full implementation of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS remains critical for the SIDS in their national efforts towards achieving resilient prosperity. This implementation coincides with the remaining five years for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and achievement of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, this calls for enhanced global partnership for development, adequate provision and mobilization of all means of implementation and continued international support to the SIDS to fully implement the Agenda. Therefore, the Ministers urged the international community, in particular the developed countries to provide the required means of implementation to the SIDS in this regard.

369. The Ministers emphasized that the monitoring and evaluation framework of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States, developed by the inter-agency task force in line with paragraph 38 of the ABAS, should promote national ownership of the Agenda and drive accountability, and in this regard looked forward to its adoption by the General Assembly during its 80th Session.

370. The Ministers further stressed the urgency of finding additional solutions to the major challenges facing small island developing States in a concerted manner so as to support them in sustaining the momentum realized in implementing the Barbados Programme of Action, the Mauritius Strategy, Samoa Pathway, the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda and achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. There is also the need for greater support to SIDS by the UN system and more broadly the international community.

371. The Ministers acknowledged the close interlinkages between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda. In addition, they urged full and effective implementation of both agendas, including the fulfilment of the provisions of all means of implementation. In this regard, the Ministers also encouraged other initiatives and programmes in support of the sustainable development priorities of SIDS, including the establishment and operationalization of the SIDS Center of Excellence and its Debt Sustainability Support Service, SIDS Data Hub, Technology and Innovation Mehcanism, and the Island Investment Forum. They also called for the further strengthening of global partnerships for SIDS in priority areas of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda in order to ensure its timely, effective, and full implementation and in this regard, they noted with appreciation the many initiatives already spearheaded by countries of the South.

372. The Ministers continued to underscore the value of genuine and durable partnerships as a means of supporting the sustainable development of SIDS, and noted the recommendations for the strengthening of the SIDS Partnership Framework and the inputs on strengthening the SIDS Global Business Network and its Forum.

373. The Minister emphasized that for SIDS to achieve sustainable development and resilient prosperity, the international community must assist SIDS to diversify economies and strengthen state and productive capacities. At the same time the international financial architecture should go further to fully address SIDS' unique development circumstances and make accessing concessional finance easier for them, which could mitigate SIDS' fiscal constraints and reduce the risk of indebtedness, especially for highly indebted SIDS, and prevent the reversal of hard-earned development gains.

374. The Ministers remained concerned with the process for graduating of SIDS from least developed country status, and called upon the international community, especially the Committee for Development Policy, to give due consideration to the unique and particular vulnerabilities of SIDS as it considers their graduation from least developed country status and further recognized that those SIDS that are middle- and high-income countries face specific challenges to achieving sustainable development, despite this income categorization, they are not homogenous, and SIDS continue to be extremely vulnerable to environmental and economic shocks, and are highly dependent on external markets.

375. The Ministers expressed their deep appreciation to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda for hosting the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States held from 27-30 May 2024.

376. The Ministers recalled that middle-income countries are still home to most of the world's people living in poverty and inequalities and gaps still remain. They continue to face significant challenges to achieve sustainable development. The Ministers reiterated the urgent need to identify ways and means to ensure that the diverse and specific development needs of MICs are appropriately considered and addressed, in a tailored fashion, in their relevant strategies and policies, with a view to promoting a coherent and comprehensive approach towards individual countries. In this context, the UNDS, the international financial institutions, regional organizations, and other stakeholders must improve its support to different country contexts, including how to provide efficient, effective, more coordinated and better and focused support to MICs.
376. The Ministers welcome to the convening of the High-Level Meeting on Middle-Income Countries by the President of the General Assembly during the 79th session of the General Assembly to discuss the structural barriers for middle-income countries in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and explore the impact of new approaches that go beyond gross domestic product, which could inform international development cooperation, including policy and financial decisions and called to continue to convene such meetings of the General Assembly on Middle-Income Countries on a regular basis.

377. The Ministers recognized the importance of addressing the specific challenges facing MICs. In order to ensure that achievements made to date are sustained, efforts to address ongoing challenges should be strengthened through the exchange of experiences, improved coordination and better and focused support, aligned with MICs' specific needs and priorities, from the UNDS, the international financial institutions, regional organizations and other stakeholders. The Ministers also acknowledged that ODA and other concessional finance are still important for a number of these countries and have a role to play for targeted results, taking into account the specific needs of these countries. In this regard, the Ministers highlighted the need to make all institutional arrangements necessary to support MICs within the UN system and its respective mandates, in particular through a comprehensive UN system-wide and long-term strategy aimed at facilitating sustainable development cooperation and coordinated support towards MICs.

378. The Ministers recalled the UNIDO Strategic Framework for Partnering with Middle-Income Countries adopted in Resolution GC.18/Res.9 of 7 November 2019 of the General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, entitled Inclusive and Sustainable industrial development in middle-income countries. The Ministers further recalled the convening of the Special meeting on the implementation of SDG 8 in MICs on the margins of HLPF 2025 in support of building momentum towards the goal of developing a strategic plan of action for middle-income countries.

379. The Ministers stressed the need to make all institutional arrangements necessary to support MICs within the UN system and we look forward to the elaboration of a specific inter-agency, comprehensive, system-wide response plan aimed at better addressing the multidimensional nature of sustainable development and facilitating sustainable development cooperation and coordinated and inclusive support to middle-income countries based on their specific challenges and diverse needs.

380. The Ministers called for special attention to Middle Income Countries in their transition to higher income levels countries, considering that Middle Income Countries are exposed to a greater risk of being eliminated as recipient countries of development cooperation and financial flows, with a high degree of concessionality coming from the Multilateral development banks and donor countries and that Official Development Assistance remains as an important source for supporting their development process and National Development.

381. The Ministers reaffirmed that the middle-income countries (MICs) face significant challenges to achieve sustainable development, as they are home to 62% of the global poor. As recognized by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, many MICs are confronted by specific challenges such as climate change, debt distress, fiscal deficits, increasing public and corporate debt, tax avoidance, trade protectionism, and heavy reliance on the tourism sector, shrinking foreign direct investments, large influx of refugees, fragmented social and economic structures, with a significant share of employment in informal or low-productivity sectors, increased vulnerability to future pandemics, and other global challenges.

382. The Ministers recognized that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed middle-income countries, including those moving into higher income, at risk of losing many of their hard-won gains in development and that more needs to be done for a sustainable recovery with regard to resource mobilization efforts, poverty eradication, food security, universal health coverage, health systems strengthening and pandemic response and preparedness, returning children to school, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, the promotion of decent jobs and social protection, achieving debt sustainability, the reduction of inequalities, closing digital divides and enhancing North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation.

383. The Ministers recognized that the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to exacerbate Middle-Income Countries vulnerabilities. While advanced economies were able to respond forcefully to the pandemic, due to their monetary and fiscal capacity, proposals were made by the international community to support the poorest countries via the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, through the Common Framework for Debt Treatment beyond the DSSI and through the support of international financial institutions. Forgotten between these extremes are the middle-income countries. The World Bank estimates that 82 percent of the total new global extreme poor will be in MICs. The Ministers also reiterated their call to the multilateral development banks to explore ways to ensure that their assistance best addresses the opportunities and challenges presented by the diverse circumstances of middle-income countries.

384. The Minsters welcomed the convening by the President of the Economic and Social Council of a specific segment panel discussion on Middle-income countries: Accelerating SDG achievement in Middle Income Countries during the 2025 High-Level Political Forum , and call on the upcoming presidencies of the ECOSOC to continue this good practice to advance the priorities of Middle-Income Countries at the United Nations.

385. The Ministers noted the convening of the Ministerial Conference on Middle-Income Countries, organized by the Kingdom of Morocco, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, on the 5 and 6 February 2024, in Rabat, Morocco, under the theme: "Solutions to address development challenges of Middle-Income Countries in a changing world", and the High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries organized by the Philippines, UNESCAP, UNDP, UNIDO and UNDCO on 28-29 April 2025 in Manila under the theme: "Breaking new gorunds: Towards a strategic plan of action for middle-income countries.

386. The Ministers reaffirmed that sustainable development cannot be realized without peace and security, and that peace and security will be at risk without sustainable development. In this regard, they further recognized that the countries in conflict and post-conflict situations, in particular among least developed countries, and countries and peoples living under foreign occupation have specific structural challenges and require context-specific approaches, including targeted national policies and international support measures to address these challenges and to support peacebuilding, State-building activities and sustainable development. The Ministers took note of the principles set out in the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States by the Group of Seven Plus, countries that are, or have been, affected by conflict.

387. The Ministers highlighted the important role played by the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission in bringing coherence to international peacebuilding efforts across different UN organs. They recognized the Commission´s role in addressing the underlying causes of conflict and mobilizing resources, including from international financial institutions. The Ministers acknowledged that the role of the Peacebuilding Commission can be further enhanced in support national, regional and international peacebuilding efforts, and expressed their intent to work towards the 2025 review of the peacebuilding architecture with that end and with a view of increasing synergies between the PBC and other UN organs, in accordance with their respective mandates.

388. The Ministers reaffirmed that the right of self-determination is a primordial right that anchors the United Nations. For developing countries, it has been and continues to be a beacon of hope for all those who struggle under the weight of occupation. In this context, in the implementation and the follow-up and review of 2030 Agenda, the international community must not forget the severe difficulties faced by peoples living under colonial and foreign occupation and strive to remove the obstacles to the full realization of their right to self-determination, which adversely affect their economic and social development and their ability to achieve and implement the sustainable development goals, and ensure that they will not be left behind.

389. The Ministers reaffirmed, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, the need to respect the territorial integrity and political independence of States.

390. The Ministers reaffirmed their unwavering support for the just cause of Palestine and solidarity with the Palestinian people. They reaffirmed their principled and long-standing support for the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and return, and the achievement of justice and their legitimate national aspirations, including for freedom, independence, peace and dignity in their independent State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Ministers expressed deep regret about the absence of a political horizon for bringing an end to the Israeli occupation and achieving the rights of the Palestinian people and the two-State solution based on the pre-1967 borders, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, the Madrid terms of reference, including the principle of land for peace and the Arab Peace Initiative.

391. The Ministers welcomed the advisory opinion of 19 July 2024 by the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which determined, inter alia, that the presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and must be brought to an end as rapidly as possible. They recalled General Assembly resolution ES-10/24 and called for its full implementation and stressed the need for the exertion of collective efforts by the international community, aimed at bringing an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, and at assisting the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination without delay, including by undertaking measures of accountability in accordance with international law towards the realization of these objectives, stressing the urgency of intensified efforts to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive solution and peace. They recognized efforts in this regard by many members of the Group of 77, including in the context of "The Hague Group", to uphold international law, support the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and promote achievement of a just and lasting peace.

392. The Ministers thus reiterated their call for the immediate and full withdrawal of Israel, the occupying Power, from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967 and from the remaining Lebanese occupied land. They reaffirmed their support for a Middle East peace process aimed at achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the region, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, including Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 425 (1978), 497 (1981) 1850 (2008), 2334 (2016), 2712 (2023), 2720 (2023), 2728 (2024) and 2735 (2024) and General Assembly resolutions ES-10/21, ES-10/22, ES-10/23, ES-10/24, ES-10/25, ES-10/26 and ES-10/27 and the principle of land for peace. In this context, they also reaffirmed their support for the Arab Peace Initiative, endorsed by the Arab Summit Conference held in Beirut, Lebanon on 28 March 2002.

393. The Ministers condemned any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition, and any measures of de facto or de jure annexation, of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan including all measures violating the historic status quo at the holy sites of Jerusalem and declared that such unilateral decisions have no legal effect, are null and void and must be immediately halted and rescinded, in compliance with international law and the relevant Security Council resolutions.

394. The Ministers expressed their grave concern regarding the drastic deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in particular the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip as a result of the military assault launched by Israel, the occupying Power, since October 2023, which has resulted in the killing of over 64,000 Palestinians and the injury of over 163,000 others, the majority children and women, as well as the forcible and repeated displacement of nearly the entire civilian population and the massive destruction of homes and other vital civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, water and sanitation networks, electricity grids, roads, mosques, churches, and United Nations facilities, including those sheltering nearly 2 million displaced persons. The Ministers demanded an immediate, full and permanent ceasefire, they welcomed the mediation efforts especially by Egypt and Qatar in this regard, and called for respect and effective implementation for the relevant United Nations General Assembly and Security Council resolutions including 2735 (2024) and for all international legal obligations, including the Provisional Measures Orders indicated by the International Court of Justice on 26 January 2024, 28 March 2024 and 24 May 2024 in the case of South Africa vs. Israel under the Genocide Convention. They stressed the urgency of ensuring protection for the Palestinian civilian population in accordance with international humanitarian law and ensuring their recovery and well-being, including by ensuring immediate unhindered humanitarian access , including by restoration of the presence of the United Nations, including UNRWA, and of international organizations in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the rapid provision of assistance at scale to address the massive needs of the population, including, inter alia, the provision of food and water to alleviate the conditions of malnutrition, starvation and famine, medical supplies and expertise to treat sick, injured and disabled civilians, as well as pregnant and new mothers and babies, and shelters for the displaced and school facilities to resume education. The Ministers expressed serious concern at Israel's continued blatant disregard of international law, international humanitarian law, the UN Charter, UN resolutions and Court orders. They also called for the release of all civilians who are being illegally held captive. They also reaffirmed their rejection of any attempt aiming at forcefully displacing, expelling or transferring the Palestinian people from their land. Furthermore, they cautioned against the spillover effects of escalating of tensions to the rest of the Middle East region and urged all relevant parties involved to exercise maximum restraint in order to prevent the further spread of hostilities.

395. The Ministers expressed appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in its capacity as Co-Facilitator of the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. They commeneded the constructive efforts of Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Senegal, League of Arab states, and other partners , in advancing consensus, mobilizing broad support, and ensuring the success of this crucial process mandated by the General Assembly. In this regard, the Ministers welcomed the adoption by the General Assembly of resolution A/RES/80/x]/[A/80/L.1/Rev.1] entitled Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.

396. The Ministers deplored the Israel's ongoing military assaults and continual de-development of the Gaza Strip exacerbating the dire humanitarian crisis, severe socio-economic conditions and challenges, including widespread poverty and unemployment and health, water, sanitation and energy crises facing the civilian population, as a result of the ongoing conflict, the Israeli blockade and the lasting and massive negative impact of the successive military aggressions committed by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian civilian population in the occupied Gaza Strip. The Ministers reiterated their demand for an end to the Israeli siege of Gaza strip and the immediate and full lifting of the Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, which constitutes massive collective punishment. They expressed grave concern about the continuing obstruction of recovery due to the Israeli military assaults and blockade and the resulting deterioration of infrastructure and services, the majority of which has been devastated in the past year and called for urgent measures to accelerate emergency humanitarian assistance and advance reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

397. The Ministers welcomed, in this regard, the Arab-OIC Plan for Early Recovery, Reconstruction and Development of Gaza, and called on the international community to actively participate in the conference that Cairo intends to host to mobilize political and financial support for the plan.

398. The Ministers requested all members of the international community, the UN and other international organizations and non-governmental organizations to continue providing much-needed developmental and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, among them Palestine refugees, during this critical period, particularly for reconstruction and socio-economic recovery in the Gaza Strip, including through the UN agencies present on the ground, and particularly UNRWA, which serves as the main pillar of United Nations humanitarian operations in the Gaza strip.

399. The Ministers reiterated their concern in this regard about the recurrent financial crisis and under-funding of UNRWA as well as the repeated provocations, incitement, restrictions on access and attacks by Israel against the Agency, including its personnel and facilities. They deplored the killing of at least 360 UNRWA personnel and the damage and destruction cause to the majority of the Agency's schools and health centres in the Gaza Strip. They demanded an end to these attacks and provocations against UNRWA, including against its headquarters compound in occupied East Jerusalem, and urged States to continue to extend political support for the Agency's mandate and financial support to ensure the continuity of UNRWA services, a critical lifeline of support for the refugees and a tangible contribution to regional stability. They also urged their strong support for the continuing efforts to follow-up the Secretary-General's report (A/71/849) and relevant recommendations aimed at mobilizing more sufficient, sustained and predictable funding to the Agency, including by the UN, to ensure the Agency's effective operation and uninterrupted provision of vital humanitarian and development assistance to the Palestine refugees, in all fields of operation, in accordance with its General Assembly mandate, including its education, health, and relief and social services, which have been recognized as promoting 10 of the 17 SDGs.

400. The Ministers appealed to States and organizations for the maintenance of their voluntary contributions to the Agency, as well as an increase in contributions where possible, and also appealed for the support of new donors, to meet the needs of the Palestine refugees and essential associated costs of operations, including to prevent the spread of epidemics in the Gaza Strip and to urgently mitigate the impact of the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and of worsening economic and social conditions across the region on the refugee community. They reaffirmed strong support for the mandate of UNRWA, in accordance with the continuing responsibility of the international community as a whole to assist the Palestine refugees, pending a just solution in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and stressed that the mandate cannot be altered by the unlawful actions of the occupying Power.

401. The Ministers expressed deep concern about the further decline of the social and economic conditions of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, as a result of illegal Israeli practices, which include, but are not limited to, the continuing colonization of Palestinian land by Israel, the occupying Power, in grave breach of international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, as well as in flagrant violation of relevant UN resolutions, including, inter alia, Security Council resolution 2334 (2016), and disrespect of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice. In this connection, the Ministers demanded a complete and immidiate halt to Israel's confiscation of Palestinian property, construction and expansion of Israeli settlements and the wall, transfer of Israeli settlers to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, demolition of Palestinian homes and forced displacement of Palestinian civilians, restrictions on the freedom of movement and all measures of annexation, and called for full respect of international law and all
relevant resolutions.

402. The Ministers expressed grave concern over the conclusion by the International Court of Justice in its 19 July 2024 advisory opinion that Israel, the occupying Power, has annexed large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, violating, inter alia, the prohibition on the acquisition of territory by force and violating the integrity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, an essential element of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination. They also expressed grave concern over the frequent acts of violence, terror and incitement against Palestinian civilians and the destruction of Palestinian properties by Israeli settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and called for action to hold the perpetrators accountable for these crimes in accordance with international law and in respect of the 19 July 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice.

403. The Ministers underscored the determination by the International Court of Justice that Israel has been exploiting the natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for its own benefit and for the benefit of settlements, in breach of its obligation to respect the Palestinian people's permanent sovereignty over natural resources, further depriving the Palestinian people and impeding the exercise of its right to self-determination, and stressed the imperative of upholding international law and ensuring its full respect in this regard, including to enable the Palestinian people to exercise self-determination and to freely pursue its economic, social and cultural development.

404. The Ministers deplored the systematic, grave breaches of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, committed by Israel, the occupying power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as the territories of the Syrian Arab Republic and Lebanon. They reiterated the calls for accountability for these violations and called upon the Security Council, in line with its Charter duty for the maintenance of international peace and security, to undertake serious follow-up efforts to bring an end to Israel's impunity and realize justice for the victims and to contribute to a peaceful and just solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

405. The Ministers reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and of the Syrian population of the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources, including land, water and energy resources, and demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, cease the exploitation, damage, cause of loss or depletion and endangerment of the natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, which constitute violations of international law and severely undermine their ability to pursue sustainable development.

406. The Ministers reiterated their call on Israel to end its strikes on Syrian civil infrastructure and residential buildings, which constitutes a violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, threatens the livelihood of civilians and the safety of civil aviation, and hinders United Nations humanitarian operations.

407. The Ministers reiterated their call for the complete dismantlement and immediate cessation of all illegal Israeli settlement activities and demographic change in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan. They also reaffirmed their conviction that the Israeli occupation remains the main obstacle to the efforts to achieve sustainable development and a sound economic environment in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan.

408. The Ministers strongly condemned the attack carried out by Israel, the occupying power, on July 27th 2024 on the village of Majdal Shams, in the occupied Syrian Golan, which resulted in the loss of life of 12 Syrian children.

409. The Ministers strongly condemn the heinous Israeli unlawful and illegal attack on the diplomatic premises of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Syrian Arab Republic on 1 April 2024, and its recent cowardly unlawful and illegal attack in violation of the sovereignty and territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 31 July 2024, targeting a high-ranking official guest, Mr. Ismail Haniyeh, political chief of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) and former Prime Minister of Palestine, violating the fundamental norms and principles of international law, particularly the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, including Article 2 (4). The Ministers reaffirmed that such brutal unlawful and illegal actions by Israel threaten peace and security at the regional and global levels and are serious obstacles to achieve sustainable development.

410. The Ministers unequivocally condemned the unprovoked armed aggression perpetrated by the Israeli regime, with the full backing of the United States, against the Islamic Republic of Iran from 13 to 24 June 2025, as well as the subsequent unlawful strike of 22 June 2025 targeting Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities - acts constituting a flagrant breach of the UN Charter, international law including international humanitarian law and international human rights law as well as the fundamental principles of international law including sovereignty and territorial integrity. They further condemned the deliberate targeting of civilians and essential infrastructure, including hospitals, health-care facilities, media institutions, prison, diplomatic center, live broadcasting TV channel, and humanitarian personnel by the Israel regime. The Ministers expressed deep alarm at the attacks on critical environmental and energy installations, which released toxic and greenhouse gases, gravely endangering human health, degrading ecosystems, accelerating biodiversity loss and emissions, and undermining the Sustainable Development Goals. They warned that this environmental devastation poses serious risks to regional development, stability, international peace and security, climate resilience, and the environment for present and future generations.

411. The Ministers strongly condemned unlawful attacks against nuclear facilities, considering them a grave violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, which also resulted in severe and irreversible environmental and humanitarian consequences. The bombing or destruction of such facilities led to the release of radioactive and toxic substances that crossed national borders, threatening human health, ecosystems, and vital resources such as air, soil, and water. Historical experiences demonstrated the long-term repercussions of radioactive contamination for public health, food security, and global environmental stability, underscoring the urgent necessity of refraining from such unlawful and inhumane acts and of their unequivocal condemnation by the international community.

412. The Ministers condemned Israel's ongoing attacks against Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity by air, land and sea and they urged Israel to end these violations. They also urge Israel to withdraw immediately and unconditionally from all occupied Lebanese territories including Shebaa Farms, Kfarshouba Hills and the occupied lands in the outskirts of the town Al-Mari which partly includes the urban expansion of the village of Ghajar, as well as the five positions north of the blue line and to lift the buffer zones, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and in particular Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), and the cessation of hostilities announcement on 27 November 2024. They also condemned Israel's indiscriminate bombing of villages in southern Lebanon that caused high number of civilian casualties and extensive damage to civilian infrastructures, including housing and businesses, and complete destructions of several border villages, in addition to the targeting of civilians, journalists, medics, paramedics, Lebanese Armed Forces bases and personnel and UNIFIL peacekeeping forces bases and personnel. They also expressed grave concern about the impact of those attacks on key economic sectors and services such as tourism, industry and agriculture. In this regard, the Ministers called on the international community to extend all support to the government of Lebanon in the reconstruction efforts.

413. The ministers condemned the use of internationally prohibited weapons on civilian targets during its aggression on Lebanon, especially the repetitive use of white phosphorus ammunition against Lebanon including in populated areas, in violation of International Humanitarian Law, which is causing major health, environmental and agricultural disasters and leading to fires in Lebanese forests and agricultural lands.

414. The Ministers called on Israel to provide the United Nations with all the maps and information on the location of the landmines that it has planted in the south of Lebanon during its occupation as well as cluster bombs fired indiscriminately at Lebanon during Israel's brutal military assault in 2006, and since October 2023 which are hindering the development and rehabilitation of the south of Lebanon and preventing the agricultural exploitation of vast areas of rich agrarian land, and expressed support for the assistance in the demining efforts in the south of Lebanon. (2006).

415. The Ministers stressed that the Government of Israel needs to assume responsibility for prompt and adequate compensation to the Government of Lebanon and other countries directly affected by the oil slick caused by the destruction by the Israeli Air Force in 2006 of the oil storage tanks in the Jiyah electric power plant in Lebanon, that covered the entirety of the Lebanese coastline, extended to the Syrian coastline and hindered efforts to achieve sustainable development and demanded Israel to fully implement the relevant General Assembly Resolutions on the "Oil slick on Lebanese shores", the last of which being resolution 79/200. They noted the right of Lebanon to its oil and water and gas resources, especially those located within its exclusive economic zone.

416. The Ministers recalled that the 16th December 2025 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of UN General Assembly resolution 2065 (XX) and reaffirmed the need for the Governments of the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to resume negotiations in accordance with the principles and the objectives of the UN Charter and the relevant resolutions adopted by the General Assembly, in order to find, as soon as possible, a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas, and appreciated the good predisposition and willingness of Argentina in holding negotiations related to this aim and recalled UN General Assembly Resolution 37/9, which, inter alia, entrusted the Secretary-General with a mission of good offices in order to assist the parties to resume the said negotiations.

417. In this regard, the Ministers reaffirmed the principle of territorial integrity as enshrined in General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV), highlighted the right of the Member States of the Group to permanent sovereignty over their natural resources, including the right of the Argentine Republic to take legal action with full respect for international law and relevant resolutions against non-authorized hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation activities in the referred area and recalled the need for both parties to refrain from taking decisions that would imply introducing unilateral modifications in the situation while the islands are going through the process recommended by the Assembly, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 31/49.

418. The Ministers welcomed the efforts made by the Government of Colombia to implement its policy of total peace. In this regard, the Ministers called upon the international community to lend its full support to Colombia at this critical stage of the process. Celebrating the commitment of its government to the full implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreements, adopted between the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP, as well as the commitment to advance in dialogues with other armed actors, who have demonstrated their will for peace.

419. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of supporting and strengthening multilateralism, and, in this regard, recognized that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the other parties is a concrete case of a successful multilateral action for resolving outstanding global issues, stressed that such model sets a real example for further accelerating the achievement of sustainable development including by strengthening international co-operation, through enhanced means of implementation.

420. The Ministers recalled that the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, was unlawfully excised by the United Kingdom from the territory of Mauritius, prior to independence, in violation of international law and UN General Assembly resolutions 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 and 2066 (XX) of 16 December 1965 and that all inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago were forcibly evicted. In this regard, the Ministers took note of the adoption by the UN General Assembly on 22 May 2019 of resolution 73/295 welcoming the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 25 February 2019 on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. The Ministers took note of the Court's findings that the right to self-determination was a rule of customary international law in 1965 and that the excision of the Chagos Archipelago from the territory of Mauritius was an internationally wrongful act. In that regard, the Ministers fully supported the Court's ruling that the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible. The Ministers also took note of the Judgment of the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) of 28 January 2021. The Ministers reaffirmed, in the light of the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ, that the Chagos Archipelago is and has always been part of the territory of Mauritius and that Mauritius is the sole State lawfully entitled to exercise sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago and sovereign rights over the appurtenant maritime spaces. They resolved to cooperate fully with the UN General Assembly in ensuring the prompt decolonization of Mauritius, as required by the ICJ, and take all necessary measures for the process of decolonization of Mauritius to be completed without hindrance and as rapidly as possible.

421. The Ministers further took note of the signature by Mauritius and the United Kingdom on 22 May 2025 of an Agreement under which the United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago in its entirety, including Diego Garcia.

422. The Ministers also took note of the concern expressed by the Republic of Maldives regarding the legal and technical issues arising from the United Kingdom's illegal decision in 2010 to declare a "marine protected area" in the Chagos Archipelago which overlaps the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Maldives as declared in its Constitution without prejudice to future resolution of maritime delimitations.

423. The Ministers reaffirmed that the imposition of coercive economic measures, including unilateral sanctions, against developing countries does not contribute to economic and social development, including dialogue and understanding among countries.

424. The Ministers reaffirmed their firm rejection of the imposition of laws and regulations with extraterritorial impact and all other forms of coercive economic measures, including unilateral sanctions, and the abusive and arbitrary imposition of tariffs in direct violation to WTO principles, rules and commitments against developing countries and reiterated the urgent need to eliminate them immediately. They emphasized that such actions not only undermine the principles enshrined in the Charter of the UN and international law but also severely threaten the freedom of trade and investment. The Ministers therefore, while reiterating their firm condemnation not only of the threat or use of force, but also of the use of unilateral coercive measures, which are illegal and illegitimate according to international law and the Charter of the United Nations, called upon the international community to adopt urgent and effective measures to eliminate the use of unilateral coercive economic measures against developing countries.

425. We call upon the ECOSOC FFD Forum to assess the impact on sustainable development of unilateral economic, financial or trade measures that are inconsistent with the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, building on the work of the United Nations System.

426. The Ministers expressed their strongest rejection of the implementation of unilateral coercive measures and reiterated their solidarity with Cuba. They reaffirmed their call upon the Government of the United States to put an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on that sisterly nation for six decades that constitutes the major impediment for its full development. At the same time, the Ministers regretted the measures implemented by the government of the United States since November 9th, 2017, which strengthen the blockade. They expressed deep concern over the widening of the extraterritorial nature of the embargo against Cuba, including the full implementation of Chapter III of the Helms-Burton Act, and rejected the reinforcement of the financial measures adopted by the Government of United States, aimed at tightening the embargo.

427. The Ministers rejected the arbitrary inclusion of Cuba in the unilateral list of States that allegedly sponsor terrorism issued by the government of the United States of America. This measure has reinforced the effects of the embargo, including Cuba`s difficulties to carry out financial and commercial operations, threatening the livelihood and integrity of the Cuban population. In this regard, they requested the immediate exclusion of Cuba from this list.

428. The Ministers recognized the long-standing and positive contribution of the Cuban international medical cooperation and solidarity in saving the lives of millions of people around the world, particularly but not exclusively in developing countries. They rejected any unilateral coercive measures or attempts to hinder this international medical cooperation and solidarity for political or any other reasons.

429. The Ministers reaffirmed their rejection to the unilateral economic sanctions imposed on the Sudan, which have a negative impact on the development and prosperity of the people of the Sudan, and in this regard called for an immediate lifting of those sanctions.

430. The Ministers reaffirmed their rejection of the unilateral economic sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran, which have a negative impact on the development and prosperity of the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in this regard called for an immediate lifting of those sanctions.

431. The Ministers reaffirmed their rejection of the unilateral economic sanctions imposed on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which have a negative impact on the development and prosperity of this country, and in this regard emphasized the importance of dialogue and called for an immediate lifting of those sanctions.

432. The Ministers reaffirmed their rejection to the unilateral economic sanctions imposed on the Syrian Arab Republic, which have a negative impact on the development and prosperity of the people of the Syrian Arab Republic, and in this regard called for an immediate lifting of those sanctions.

433. The Ministers reaffirmed their rejection to the unilateral economic sanctions imposed on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which have a negative impact on the development and prosperity of the people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and in this regard called for an immediate lifting of those sanctions.

434. The Ministers reaffirmed their rejection to the unilateral economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, which have a negative impact on the development and prosperity of this country, and in this regard emphasized the importance for dialogue and call for an immediate lifting of those sanctions.

435. The Ministers welcomed the adoption of General Assembly resolution 78/135 of 19 December 2023 on "Unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries", which requests the Secretary-General to monitor the imposition of unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion and to study, inter alia, with the support and cooperation of the resident coordinators and United Nations country teams, the impact of such measures on the affected countries, including the impact on trade and development.

436. The Ministers recalled the request to the Chairperson of the Group of 77 to establish an open-ended working group to study possible ways and means to strengthen the G-77 and its Secretariat, including identifying common modalities to facilitate interchapter cooperation, as well as innovative approaches to address resource and personnel requirements of the G77 Secretariat so that it may meet the needs of the entire Group of 77 and to submit a report to the Annual Ministerial Meeting at an appropriate time.

437. The Ministers approved the Report of the Fortieth Meeting of the Committee of Experts of the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund for South-South Cooperation (PGTF) contained in document G-77/AM(XXXVII)/2025/2 and endorsed its recommendations. They commended the Chair of the PGTF for his continued commitment and expressed their satisfaction with the results achieved by the PGTF. They appealed to every Member State to make a significant contribution to PGTF to preserve its responsiveness to the growing demands of financial support to South-South cooperation activities.

438. The Ministers approved the Financial Statement of the ECDC Account of the Group of 77 contained in document G-77/AM(XXXVII)/2025/3, as presented by the Chair of the Group of 77 and urged those Member States that have not yet done so to make special efforts to pay their outstanding contributions.

439. The Ministers highlighted the progress and challenges experienced since the adoption of the Charter of Algiers, encouraged Members States and the G77 Secretariat to undertake activities to follow up the adoption of the Algiers Charter and stressed that the Group of 77 and China remain committed to our aspirations, our principles of unity, complementarity, cooperation and solidarity. The Ministers declared their firm pledge to continue their common actions for achieving the sustainable development goals, especially the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, inclusively.