Excellencies,

We meet at the critical time when developing countries continue to face limited fiscal space constraining their respective national efforts to implement bold actions to support the pursuit of their national development goals and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Group emphasizes that the discussions under these agenda items should focus on addressing the financing challenges that developing countries face, including sustainable development goals financing and investment gap, which is estimated between USD 2.5 trillion and 4 trillion annually. This financing gap is heightened by, inter alia; elevated debt burdens, rising illicit financial flows, trade protectionism, outdated international financial architecture and adverse impacts of climate change undermining the efforts of developing countries to accelerate actions to fully implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We reaffirm our long standing position that achieving the sustainable development, including the Sustainable Development Goals requires new, additional, quality, adequate, sustainable, and predictable financing.

Excellencies,

The Group emphasizes that addressing the limited fiscal space and advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda requires provision and mobilization of adequate means of implementation to developing countries. In this regard, the Group stresses that urgent actions to address the limited fiscal space and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and achievement of SDGs in developing countries should include, inter alia:

a) Urgent 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 and long term financing to all developing countries, in particular African countries, LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS, and MICs;
c) Improve 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 rechannelling of unutilized Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to developing countries;
g) Scale 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) Fulfil existing commitments, including ODA by developed countries as well as announcement of new commitments;
i) Support the 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) Eliminate immediately all laws and regulations with extraterritorial impact and all other forms of coercive economic measures, including unilateral sanctions, against developing countries;
k) Support structural transformation and enhance productive capacities for building diversified, resilient, and sustainable economies that can generate decent and productive employment;
l) Increase investments in areas such as infrastructure, innovation, technology, and skills development, as well as support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises;
m) Prevent and combat the illicit financial flows that drain resources from developing countries;
n) Enhance 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) Advance 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) Scale up investments in digital public infrastructure, connectivity, education, skills-training and capacity-building to ensure that developing countries can take better advantage of the digital economy and digitalization;
q) Promote and facilitate investments 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;
r) Catalyse increased public and private sector investment in sustainable development, including by promoting inclusive and innovative finance mechanisms and partnerships, and by creating a more enabling domestic and international regulatory and investment environment.

Excellencies,

Accordingly, the Group will submit six (6) draft resolutions under these two agendas with concrete policy action proposals to support developing countries in pursuit of their respective national development priorities as well as accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development and achievement of SDGs in the remaining six years to 2030.

Excellencies,

In conclusion, the G77 and China will engage actively and constructively in the discussions and negotiations of these draft resolutions, with the view of supporting developing countries to effectively and adequately address the financing challenges that they face.

I thank you.

2. The Group wishes to thank Mr. Chandru Ramanathan, Assistant Secretary-General and Controller, and Mr. Abdallah Bachar Bong, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) for introducing their respective reports.

3. The Group of 77 and China attaches significance to the consideration of this agenda item. Assessing the performance of the programme budget during the previous year is not only relevant for credit calculation. It is an important opportunity for the Committee to ensure that mandates are implemented in an effective and efficient manner and that the General Assembly's budgetary decisions are being adhered to. It is of little service to focus our attention on negotiating resources for the following year if we neglect to look back and assess which areas require further attention.

Madam Chair,

4. The Group regrets that, once again, because of the unpredictability in the pattern of collections, hiring and spending restrictions have been imposed, as from July and September 2023 respectively. The Group reiterates that mandate delivery must be the driver of budget implementation. We are deeply concerned that cash availability has repeatedly become a dominant factor potentially hindering mandate delivery.

5. The Group notes the proposal from the Secretary-General for a temporary suspension of the return of credits, meaning that the indicated returnable amount of USD 88.8 million would be placed, after apportionment to Member States, in a reserve that would be used in the event that collections are insufficient to enable the implementation of mandates in 2025.

6. The Group stresses, however, that the most fundamental and effective answer to the recurrent liquidity problems of the Organization depends on Member States fulfilling their obligations to pay their assessed contributions in full, on time and without conditions. We welcome the efforts from those Member States which have been making consistent efforts to reduce their arrears and to provide more predictability to the Secretariat on their payments. We also emphatically recall that one single Member State, which is also the only beneficiary of the maximum ceiling in the scale of assessments, continues to be responsible for more than half of the unpaid assessed contributions to the regular budget. The proposed temporary suspension for the return of credit is not a fundamental way of solving this problem.

7. Mindful that a new report on improving the financial situation of the Organization is also expected to be considered in the first resumed part of this seventy-ninth session, the Group will seek clarifications on this proposal and engage constructively to identify the most appropriate responses to the current situation.

Madam Chair,

8. The Group highlights the need to gain more understanding on the review of the cost-recovery fund. This is a matter on which our Group has consistently raised questions for the last years. We note that the balance of the fund has continued to grow in 2023, reaching USD 489 million and we recall resolution 78/253, part II, which provided guidance and requested more information on this important fund.

9. We also identify a need to pursue discussions on other relevant topics raised by the Advisory Committee, including transfers between sections and forward purchasing of currencies.

10. In conclusion, the Group is ready to engage constructively, with a view to achieving a successful outcome on this important agenda item.

I thank you.

At the outset, the Group of 77 and China would like to commend the presenters for the presentations of the reports. The Group notes the Secretary- General's reports contained in documents A/79/72/Add.2 and A/79/230.

Excellencies,

The Group of 77 and China emphasizes the critical role that the United Nations development system plays in advancing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achievement of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in programme countries. We reaffirm our long standing position that the United Nations development system, including the United Nations Resident Coordinator System should continue to focus on sustainable development.

Excellencies,

The Group emphasizes that the operational activities of the UN development system must be adequately funded in a more stable, flexible, predictable and sustainable manner, and if necessary, through the UN regular budget. The Group notes with deep concern that the funding of development activities, particularly the core funding continue to drop yearly hence creating unpredictability in funding of the operational activities for development. This declining level of funding constrains the UN development system's ability to provide the necessary support to developing countries to rescue the achievement of the SDGs whose progression in developing countries remains lagging.

In this regard, the group reiterates its call to developed countries to fulfil their commitments and obligations to fund the operational activities for development. We also reiterate our call to the Resident Coordinator system to ensure that the skillsets are matched with the national needs and priorities of the programme countries.

Excellencies,

The Group reaffirms its long standing position that the United Nations development system support to programme countries should be in line with their national priorities and needs. We call on the UN development system to continue to support countries, upon their request, in the implementation, follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this context, the Group will submit the draft resolution on the 2024 Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) with actions to strengthen the UN development system to deliver results on the ground to support developing countries in pursuit of their respective national development priorities as well as accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achievement of SDGs in the remaining six years.

Excellencies,

We reaffirm that South-South Cooperation and its agenda have to be set by the countries of the South. We also reaffirm that South-South Cooperation is not a substitute for, but rather a complement to, North-South Cooperation. South-South cooperation should continue to be guided by the principles of respect for national sovereignty, national ownership and independence, equality, non-conditionality, non-interference in domestic affairs and mutual benefits.

South-South cooperation should be further integrated into the planning and work of the entities of the United Nations Development System. The support by the UN System for strengthening of South-South cooperation should be enhanced, including through building and improving institutional capacity in developing countries on South-South cooperation. For its turn, the Group will continue to work towards the further strengthening South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation given its contribution in the achievement of sustainable development in its three dimensions in line with the decisions agreed at the Summits of the G77 and China, including the Third South Summit held in Kampala, Uganda.

In conclusion, the G77 and China will engage actively and constructively in the discussions and negotiations of the 2024 QCPR resolution to effectively guide the UN development system and Resident Coordinator System for the next years. We also will engage actively and constructively in the discussions and negotiations of the South-South Cooperation resolution, with a view to strengthen the role of South-South and Triangular Cooperation within the United Nations development system.

I thank you.