Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on this important agenda item.

2. We thank Mr. Warren Sach, Assistant Secretary-General for Central Support Services and Officer-in-Charge of the Department of Management, for the introduction of the Secretary-General's report on the Standards of Accommodation for Air Travel, and the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), Mr. Collen Kelapile, for introducing the report of the Advisory Committee on this matter.

3. The Group takes note of the Secretary-General's report A/66/676, and will closely examine the recommendations contained in it. That said, the Group is concerned about the late issuance of the ACABQ report that hinders the ability of delegations to carefully consider the issues at hand.

4. We believe that there is the need for continued and enhanced accountability in the area of the Organisation's air travel requirements, which serve the implementation of mandates, and that further efforts can be made to harmonise practices across the United Nations system wherever possible, and in this regard, we look forward to a fruitful discussion on this important agenda item.

5. Finally, the Group also wishes to stress that policy formulation remains the exclusive domain of the General Assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.