Mr. President,

1. I have the honour to state the following points on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. At the outset please allow me to express my appreciation on behalf of the Group to you for convening this informal consultation which provides us the opportunity to share our position to the report of the Secretary-General on this very important issue of South-South Cooperation.

2. The adoptions of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Decision under the UNFCCC COP21 in 2015 was a collective milestone in global development cooperation. The new global development template will benefit from a strengthened complementary role of South-South and Triangular Cooperation, alongside a stepped up delivery of North-South aid.

3. The Group of 77 and China is of the view that more work is needed in terms of enhancing coherence and coordination of the UN development system in support of South-South and Triangular Cooperation in order to maximize its developmental impact.

4. The Group welcomes this opportunity to discuss the draft report of the Secretary-General and trust that this will not be the only opportunity to do so and that the report will benefit from the views of the developing countries.

Mr. President,

5. The Group would like to reaffirm its well-known position that South-South Cooperation is a manifestation of solidarity among peoples and countries of the South that contributes to their national well-being, national and collective self-reliance and the attainment of the internationally agreed development goals.

6. In this regard, as stated in the Nairobi Outcome Document and reaffirmed by the Addis Agenda Action Agenda, South-South Cooperation and its agenda and initiatives must be determined by the countries of the South and should be guided by the principles of respect for national sovereignty, national ownership and independence, equality, non-conditionality, non-interference in domestic affairs and mutual benefit. At the same time, we reiterate that South-South and Triangular Cooperation are not a substitute for, but rather a complement to, North-South Cooperation.

Mr. President,

7. Pertaining to the report of the Secretary-General to be submitted to the upcoming session of the High-level Committee, the Group of 77 and China hopes that the said report would, inter alia, put the following into perspective:

8. First, the mandate of the report, as laid out in the General Assembly resolution 70/222, is to present "a comprehensive proposal on concrete ways to enhance the role of and improve the impact of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), including in the areas of financial, human and budgetary resources, including through the potential appointment of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation, and at the same time recommending specific contributions of the United Nations Development Programme under such a change, with a view to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

9. Second, an update by the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, as Chair of the United Nations Development Group, on the progress on the establishment of formalised and strengthened inter-agency mechanism, coordinated by the UNOSSC, to encourage joint support for South-South and triangular initiatives, as well as sharing information on development activities and results achieved by different organisations through their respective mandates and programmes in support of South-South and Triangular Cooperation.

Mr. President,

10. In line with the resolution of the General Assembly 70/222 adopted on 22 December 2015, the Group of 77 and China would like to reiterate the followings:

11. Call for the further strengthening of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation.

12. Call for a comprehensive proposal on concrete ways to enhance the role of and improve the impact of UNOSSC, including in the areas of financial, human and budgetary resources, including through the potential appointment of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation.

Mr President,

13. South-South Cooperation can be a powerful driver for innovation, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability supporting capacity building of a structural nature and greater flexibility in responding to development challenges. This will require better alignment and enhancement of support to it by the UN development system to correspond to the priorities of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda as well as better focus on sharing development experiences, lessons learned and best practices, knowledge exchanges and capacity building to help transform experience on the ground into valuable knowledge.

14. Lastly, the Group of 77 and China would like to reiterate the important role of South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation in international development framework, keeping in mind the complementary nature of South-South and Triangular Cooperation vis-à-vis North-South Cooperation.

I thank you.