Mr. President,

I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

At the outset I would like to congratulate the co-chairs, as well as the officers of the Bureau for your election to lead the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee. I would like to express to you and the members of the Bureau the support of the Group of 77 and China, in the work that comes ahead.

The Group of 77 and China would like to recall and reiterate its recognition of the special needs and challenges faced by the landlocked developing countries caused by their lack of territorial access to the sea. This is compounded with remoteness from world markets and also the concern that the economic growth and social well-being of LLDCs remain very vulnerable to external shocks as well as the multiple and emerging challenges including the financial and economic crisis, and climate change.

Further, with more than half of the LLDCs countries being ranked at the bottom of the Least Developed Countries poverty ladder and yet still facing on average 2.4 times higher the cost of trade transport costs than transit countries, calls for effective measures in the new programme of action that will reduce the costs of their exports and imports. These challenges have major ramifications on economic growth, and social and environmental aspects of development including the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Having said that, the Group stresses the importance for the international community to enhance development assistance to LLDCs to help them build resilience and set themselves on a path of sustainable social and economic development. As premised in "The future we want outcome" document, the international community has an obligation to ensure that the group of LLDCs are not left behind in development but should be brought to the same level of development.

Therefore, the Group reaffirmed the need to urgently support and cooperate for the effective and full implementation of the priorities of the Almaty Programme of Action.

The Ministerial Declaration of G77 and China of 2013, welcomed the decision of the General Assembly in its resolutions 66/214 of December 2011 and 67/222 of December 2012, to hold a comprehensive ten-year review conference of the Almaty Programme of Action in 2014.

In that regard, the Group of 77 and China believes that the ten-year review conference of the Almaty Programme of Action (APOA) that begins today will not only represent an important opportunity for LLDCs, transit developing countries development and partners to reevaluate the Programme but also will allow to come up with a new programme that is not only more specific and action oriented tool to address major constraints. The new programme will also benefit in particular from Almaty Programme of Action (APOA) implementation best practices, key lessons, gaps and weaknesses, and to also identify the priority areas for the years to come.

The Conference to be held in Vienna will strive for the assessment of the Almaty Program of Action and should also be an opportunity for the international community to identify new challenges as well as measures to address the special needs of LLDCs.

Therefore, the Group would like to call upon the international community, including the United Nations system, development partners, international organizations, private sector institutions, and academia, to critically consider special needs of and challenges faced by LLDCs, and to help develop priorities for a new, more comprehensive, common action-oriented framework of LLDCs for the next decade as well to be an integral part of the post 2015 development agenda.

The Group believes that the Conference that will take place in Vienna should work for the approval of a new program of action that complements and broadens what was already achieved. It should also aim to eradicate poverty, enhance competitiveness, and productive capacities as well as ensure a better future for people living in all LLDCs. Therefore a holistic approach to address not only specific economic aspects, but also key priorities of the social and environmental aspects should be embraced in the new programme of action.

The group wishes to reiterate and stress the importance of addressing transit issues and the full establishment of efficient transit systems which have not yet been achieved in the regions according to the Almaty Programme of Action. As well as, effective measures to reduce costs of transport, and transport infrastructural development that are of critical importance to LLDCs.

The Group of 77 and China has the highest expectation of the outcome of this session and the following sessions of the Preparatory Committee as well as of the Conference, and will work among all the related actors for a successful outcome.

Thank you,