I have the honor to deliver the statement on behalf of the 134 members of the Group of 77 and China.

Mr. President,

The Group of 77 and China, wishes to thank you, for convening this important meeting today and allowing Member States to express their views and statements on the contents of the report and its options for policies on sustainable development financing. We expect these views and statements to be reflected by the Secretariat as an integral part of the resolution to be adopted at the end of this meeting.

In fulfilling the mandate of paragraph 257 of the Rio+20 Outcome Document, the consideration of this report by the General Assembly reaches out to all Member States and relevant stakeholders, especially those who have not been given the opportunity to present their views during the elaboration of the report. Unfortunately the rules of procedure applied to participation and interactions of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts were far more restrictive.

We believe that the present GA meeting is a most timely occasion to make up for the outreach deficit of the Intergovernmental Committee.

Mr. President,

The Group regards the report of the experts not as a document that galvanizes full agreement in every detail, but as one input - among others - to build a common and future agreement on the tools of financing and the means of implementing the sustainable development goals.

The Group believes that the world economic crisis is not yet over, and that its effects are still being felt in developing countries. And considers that we need to see improvement of the international environment, in order to achieve the objective to promote sustainable development, globally and in every nation and free humanity from poverty and hunger.

The Group believes that the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration provide the conceptual framework, including in the context of the post-2015 development agenda, for the mobilization of resources from a variety of sources and the effective use of financing required for the achievement of sustainable development. Therefore we should not only focus on how to mobilize domestic resources, but also on how to mobilize international finance and further strengthening the systemic aspect of an enabling environment, such as the importance of having a stable financial and trading multilateral system which provide adequate policy space and national ownership for developing countries in their pursuit of international agreed development goals.

Mr. President,

The Group recognizes at the outset the positive recommendations of the report, such as giving due consideration to the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" (CBDR) of developed and developing countries and their respective capabilities, as stated in principle 7 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. On the road to Addis Ababa, we must also take guidance from OP247 of the Rio+20 Outcome Document, which underscores that SDGs are "(...) universally applicable to all countries, while taking into account different realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities".

It is also positive the recognition of the experts to the complimentary and voluntary nature of South-South cooperation, vis-à-vis North-South cooperation, in accordance with the Nairobi Outcome (2009), as well as Decision 18/1 of the High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation and its recommendations. We do regret though the omission of references to the need of scaling-up the financial and human resources of the UN Office on South-South Cooperation.

Mr. President,

The Group regrets though that core mandates of the Rio+20 Outcome Document have not been taken into account by the experts, especially those related to the Sustainable Development Goals (as adopted by GA resolution 68/309) and possible arrangements on a facilitation mechanism on development, dissemination and transfer of clean and environmentally sound technologies (as adopted by GA resolution 68/310).

The Group is also concerned with the report departing from the Monterrey/Doha conceptual framework, as much as not addressing financing for sustainable development according to the Rio+20 consensus.

In this regard, the concept of Global Public Goods (GPGs) must be pointed out as a concern, since it unravels the idea of a balanced integration of the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, and their inter-linkages.

We understand that the GPGs may have acted as a "quick-fix" solution to help the experts make do without the SDGs, still in the making at that time, then we must admit that the welcoming of GA Resolution 68/309 has filled a crucial gap and granted centrality to the report of the OWG on SDGs as the main basis for mainstreaming sustainable development goals into the post-2015 development agenda.

The importance of a UN institutional follow-up framework has not been given due attention in the report of the experts and should thus be further discussed by Member States in the months ahead.

Debating the follow-up process will also involve assessing the relentless impact of the international financial and economic crisis over the implementation of the development agenda, as well as the remedies and reforms expected to enable the international community and its most vulnerable segments to put in place effective sustainable development strategies to free humanity from poverty and hunger by 2030.

Mr. President,

The report of the experts presents to Member States options to be yet discussed in the preparatory process for the third international conference on financing for development. In light of the consensus earned by the SDGs and the existing common principles and agreements achieved at the UN, the Group presents the following additional remarks on the experts' report:

(i) CBDR will continue to be pivotal in discussing a strategy for financing sustainable development;

(ii) the basket of 115 options on policies presented by the experts must be examined against the background of the report of the OWG on the SDGs and its 17 goals and 169 targets therein contained. We should retain the centrality of the SDGs, to ensure the holistic approach to sustainable development mandated by Monterrey and Rio+20 processes;

(iii) The Global Public Goods (GPGs) suggested by the experts must correspond to the 17 goals of the SDGs in their entirety;

(iv) reform and mobilization of domestic resources, including through partnerships and blended finance, must not trump the centrality of international trade and systemic issues for catalyzing sustainable development;

(v) the private sector is not a silver bullet for sustainable development without scaling up ODA in favor of national capacity building and regulatory framework policies, particularly in those countries with special needs;

(vi) ODA must not be redefined so as to encompass peace and security aspects that divert resources from development-oriented initiatives. Ensuring peaceful societies and empowering institutions must not be used as conditioned assistance for Member States. Aid effectiveness must continue to strictly apply to North-South cooperation, since the Busan follow-up processes and its related initiatives refer to plurilateral arrangements. without explicit mandate from the General Assembly.

(vii) The Group advocates the need to resume the debate on a UN institutional follow-up mechanism as well as on a framework of accountability to partnership initiatives with the private sector;

(viii) some options suggested by experts regarding management of resources and energy must be followed by corresponding leading initiatives of developed countries in terms of granting improved access to technology and its patents, especially those related to clean and environmentally sound technologies.

Mr. President,

Let me congratulate you once again for convening this meeting. My Group also thanks the co-facilitators of the process, which enters its second substantive informal session tomorrow, for their dedication and ultimate patience for bridging the differences on such a sensitive and important issue.

The Group of 77 and China is a diverse Group, but one which understands the value and importance of working together around the importance of financing ambitious and transformational Sustainable Development Goals with corresponding ambitious and transformational Means of Implementation.

Thank you.