Distinguished co-Facilitators,

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

We would thank our distinguished co-facilitators for their letter dated 21 March 2018 and the zero-draft of the UN General Assembly resolution on the repositioning of the United Nations Development System, in the context of the QCPR attached therein. We believe that the zero-draft represents a good basis for the negotiations moving forward.

At the outset, I would like to convey to you the clear and unanimous message of the G77 that the process that we are engaged in on the repositioning of the United Nations Development system is one of paramount importance to the Group. Indeed, the members of the Group comprise the countries of operation of the UNDS, and as such, we have a stake in the success of the process, and hence of your success co-facilitators, in order to attain a better system that would rise to the aspirations of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, and countries' efforts towards its implementation. We call on all our partners to rise up to the ambition of ensuring a successful conclusion for this process, and in this spirit, assure them of our unwavering and unfettered support to reach a successful outcome.

Distinguished co-Facilitators,

The Group would like to seize this opportunity to make a few preliminary remarks both on the process moving forward, as well as on the substance of the zero-draft:

First, on the process, and as we have stated on numerous occasions, most recently during the informal consultations held on 16 March 2018, we would like to assert once again that it should be member-state driven, open, transparent and inclusive. In light of the paramount importance we accord to this process, the Group would still like to express its preference for having a 'compilation text' as a basis for the negotiations. However, in the spirit of our constructive approach, we are willing to engage in the process on the basis of a single 'hybrid text.' This would indicate the proposals received from member-states on each paragraph, and ultimately the co-facilitators' corresponding proposed text. We have full confidence in your able leadership co-facilitators in navigating this process forward.

Second, on the substance of the zero-draft, we would like to agree that only proposals made from the floor during the consultations should be taken into consideration. In order to facilitate the work of the co-facilitators, and in the interest of transparency, the Group would also be submitting a written copy of all its oral amendments and proposals made from the floor to the co-facilitators and requests that they be made available to other delegations.

Distinguished co-Facilitators,

In order to expedite the negotiation process in the tight timeframe we have before us, we would like to affirm that the QCPR resolution should not be renegotiated, and hence the mandates contained therein should not be reopened. As such, we would like to streamline the text as much as possible so as to remove references that have already been settled in the QCPR, and only deal with issues that require a new mandate from the General Assembly.

The Group stands ready to engage on a para-by-para reading of the zero-draft. We will be presenting additional language and amendments as the process moves forward, and request the co-facilitators to consider setting a future cut-off date by which to receive new language proposals from delegations. We will provide additional general comments on the sections of the zero-draft during the course of our meeting this afternoon, and as you decide for the conduct of the meeting.

Thank you.