Mr. President,

1. I have the honour to deliver this statement 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 the current informal consultations of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation during this session.

2. The Group of 77 and China would like to extend our congratulations to you and members of your Bureau upon your election to lead this High-level Committee and look forward to working closely, actively and constructively with you and members of your Bureau.

Mr. President,

3. As we embark on our collective journey towards a sustainable future, it is critical that we increase our efforts to maximize the potentiality of South-South and Triangular Cooperation in light of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework to Combat Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2015.

4. At the same time, upcoming deliberations and negotiations of the next cycle of the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) during the upcoming session of the General Assembly will also need to take the critical role of South-South and Triangular Cooperation into consideration.

Mr. President,

5. Please allow me to reiterate our long-standing 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. As laid out in the Nairobi Outcome document, South-South Cooperation and its agenda have to be set by countries of the South, and should continue to 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 Cooperation is not a substitute for, but rather a complement to, North-South Cooperation.

7. South-South Cooperation can be a powerful driver to innovation, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and growth. In this regard, South-South Cooperation it requires the following actions:

7.1 a better enhancement and adequate partnerships in an open and transparent manner to address the priorities of the 2030 Agenda;

7.2 a definition of strategies of South-South Cooperation across agencies, sectors including the private sector, and countries;

7.3 deployment of South-South Cooperation knowledge sharing in science, technology and innovations;

7.4 focus on sharing development experiences, knowledge exchanges and capacity building;

7.5 mainstreaming South-South Cooperation in national development cooperation framework; and

7.6 more robust institutional coordination and systematic measurement and reporting mechanisms.

Mr. President,

8. The Group of 77 and China take note of the Secretary-General's report of 15 March 2016, in particular the recommendations to further enhance the role and impact of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) in order to galvanise more coherent and coordinated United Nations system support to South-South and Triangular Cooperation towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The report particularly emphasised the prioritization of the Office's activities and staff profiling to support policy dialogue and intergovernmental processes, partnership-building and mainstreaming South-South and Triangular Cooperation in the United Nations operational initiatives.
 
9. However, pursuant to the General Assembly resolution of 70/222, the report did not elaborate on any proposal on the up-scaling of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation in terms of financial, human and budgetary resources. The Group, in this regard, looks forward to the elaboration on the appointment of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation aimed at strengthening the role of the Office as the focal point for promoting and facilitating South-South and Triangular Cooperation for development on a global and system-wide basis as called for on several past Sessions of this High-level Committee.

10. On the same note, the Group would like to stress the importance of implementing the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit on South-South and Triangular Cooperation in the United Nations system (JIU/REP/2011/3) and the United Nations Development Programme (DP/CF/SSC/5) that remain unfulfilled. This includes recommendation 7 of the JIU on the lack of clear reporting lines of the Office that negatively impact its operational effectiveness. This shortcoming needs to be resolved.

Mr. President,

11. On the on-going work and activities to strengthen South-South and Triangular Cooperation, the Group of 77 and China welcome with satisfaction the progress made by the South-South and Triangular Cooperation Task Team of the United Nations Development Group in the establishment of a more formalized and strengthened inter-agency mechanism coordinated by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation.

12. We take note of the publication on the work of the Task Team on the mapping and design of good practices in South-South and Triangular Cooperation. We look forward to a comprehensive review on the work of the Task Team when it concludes its mandates at the end of this year.

13. We also note with appreciation that many Member States have designated national focal points for South-South and Triangular Cooperation. With the view to enhancing the role of the Office in the dissemination of information, we encourage others that have not done so to do the same. In addition, we encourage the Office and the Task Team to work closely with one another to foster dialogue and collaboration among the network of Southern centres of excellence in developing countries to advance South-South and Triangular Cooperation in sectors of critical importance to developing countries.

Mr. President,

14. Also pursuant to the General Assembly resolution of 70/222, the Group would like to reiterate our requests to the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as Chair of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), and institutional location of the Office as follows:

14.1 To provide progress on establishing a more formalized and strengthened inter-agency mechanism, coordinated by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, with a view to encouraging joint support for South-South and Triangular initiatives, as well as sharing information on development activities and results achieved by various organizations through their respective business models in support of South-South Cooperation and Triangular cooperation.

14.2 To provide the Office the opportunity to be represented in strategic and coordination mechanisms of the United Nations Development Group when deliberating on matters affecting South-South and Triangular Cooperation, so as to enhance its role as the system-wide focal point for South-South and Triangular Cooperation.

14.3 To assist developing countries, upon request, in implementing projects under South-South framework, including sharing best practices and experiences from the South. This, in the view of the Group, could be done through the good office of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation which has the responsibility to support countries' efforts to manage, design and implement South-South Cooperation policies and initiatives through the identification, sharing and transfer of successful Southern-generated development solutions.

Mr. President,

15. The Group of 77 and China are of the view that in our collective efforts to implement and achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as other commitments, the growing importance of South-South and Triangular Cooperation must be recognised but at the same time must not be overemphasised considering its role as a complement and not a substitute of North-South Cooperation.

I thank you.