Mr President,

On behalf of the member states of the Group of 77 and China, I am honoured to introduce the Group of 77 and China's draft resolution entitled "Venue of annual sessions of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund/United Nations Office for Project Services," A/69/Rev.77, under Agenda item 24 (a).

The Group of 77 and China would like to reiterate its longstanding position that the Executive Board's Annual Sessions should take place only in New York, instead of alternating between New York and Geneva, so as to broaden participation of developing countries in the decision-making processes of these deliberations. The Group has therefore, moved a draft resolution, which is currently under consideration before this august body of the United Nations, to resolve this issue.

Mr President,

The Group's principled positions to finally resolve this matter is informed, inter alia, by the following considerations:

- That holding the Executive Board sessions in New York would presents significant cost savings to the core resources of the United Nations Development Programme, which could then be utilized for programming activities of the United Nations Development System, and - Also recognizing that the participation of developing countries in sessions of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Population Fund and United Nations Office for Project Services held in Geneva has in the past been lower than those held in New York, which supports the Group's reasons for such meetings to be held at the latter venue, which is the Headquarters of the United Nations.

We therefore cannot lose this benevolent opportunity to reach finality on this issue as it is long overdue. If we are really serious about leaving no one behind, then this is the only possible route to embark on. It would not be prudent to come up with any stop-gap measure at this stage, to attempt addressing this matter. There is therefore a need to have a positive General Assembly decision on this issue.

Mr President,

The Group would like to note with appreciation the role of the Government of the Swiss Confederation in facilitating the hosting of alternative annual sessions of the Executive Boards of United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund/United Nations Office for Project Services at the United Nations office in Geneva. We do believe that we will continue to count on the Swiss' support in development cooperation matters. This is critical as we move towards the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in preparation of the upcoming QCPR negotiations.

Mr President,

Let us all strive for a strong and revitalized United Nations Development System. Deciding positively on this draft resolution under consideration would be an important step to take in that regard.

Mr President,

The Group of 77 and China would like to convey the updates on the previous L-Document. The updates and changes that have been made to the L-Document are a result of extensive rounds of consultations with our partners, and reflect our commitment to meet the middle-ground that we all strove for.

PP8 should read: Recognizing that the participation of developing countries in the sessions of the Executive Board sessions of the United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund/United Nations Office for Project Services held in Geneva has been less than that in those held in New York,

PP9 should read: Noting the larger presence of missions from developing countries in New York,

PP10 should read: Recognizing that the primary focus of the United Nations development system continue to be developing countries,

PP11 should read: Recognizing also the financial burden that the current system of alternating Executive Board sessions between New York and Geneva places on both developing countries and the United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund/United Nations Office for Project Services

PP12 should read: Noting that holding the Executive Board sessions in New York would present significant cost savings to the core resources of the United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund/United Nations Office for Project Services, which could then be utilized for programming activities of the United Nations development system,

PP13 should read: Noting with appreciation the role of the Government of the Swiss Confederation in facilitating the hosting of alternative annual sessions of the Executive Boards of United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund/United Nations Office for Project Services at the United Nations office at Geneva

OP1 should read: Decides that all annual sessions of the Executive Boards of the United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund/United Nations Office for Project Services will henceforth be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York;

OP2 should read: Encourages Executive Boards of United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund/United Nations Office for Project Services to further discuss and continue existing arrangements to facilitate the participation of least developed countries and landlocked developing countries in the annual sessions to be held in New York

I Thank You.