1- I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The Group would like to extend its appreciation to the Secretariat for the organization of the ECOSOC Partnership Forum this year, which provides an important opportunity for discussions, and exchange of views on this important issue.

2- The Group of 77 and China takes note of the theme of this year namely "Partnering of Resilient, and Inclusive Societies Contribution of the Private Sector." As the Group recognizes the important role of the private sector in enhancing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we are also cognizant of the importance of the inclusive engagement with partnership initiatives including with all actors not only the private sector.

Madame President,

3- The Group of 77 and China acknowledges the need for global partnership for sustainable development and solidarity at all levels in order to overcome the challenges facing countries, especially developing countries in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the SDGs. We underline the importance of meaningful, robust, transparent and long-term partnership of the public and private sectors to support national efforts in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, while taking into account national priorities and needs, through the delivery of all the means of implementation as contained in Sustainable Development Goal 17, as well as paying due regard to the importance of all the Sustainable Development Goals.

4- The Group reaffirms the importance of strengthening South-South Cooperation in line with the the Nairobi outcome document. We further reaffirm that South-South Cooperation is a collective endeavor of developing countries, based on the principle of solidarity. We reiterate in this regard that South-South Cooperation is a complement to, rather than a substitute for, North-South Cooperation.

5- The Group of 77 and China acknowledges the role played by United Nations multi-stakeholder partnerships. We also emphasize the importance of coordination, in engaging potential partners, between entities within the UN System, according to their respective mandates. ECOSOC has, inter alia, a significant role to play in coordinating these partnership initiatives in order for these to achieve their desired roles in line with the 2030 Agenda. We believe that UNDESA could lead in undertaking a mapping exercise of UN partnership initiatives to be noted by Member States

6- We would also like to reiterate that UN multi-stakeholder partnerships must be based on transparency and accountability. According to the General Assembly Resolution 70/224 entitled "Towards Global Partnership," information was requested to be made available regarding the partners, their contribution, and matching funds and projects for all partnerships within the UN, including at country level. The Resolution also called for the strengthening of systematic reporting on such partnership initiatives to the relevant Executive Boards. In this regard, the Group stresses that national Governments are the central players in convening and leveraging partnership initiatives at the country level, in line with their national plans and priorities.

7- In light of the increasing imbalance in the funding mix of the UN development system, we emphasize that all types of partnership initiatives between entities of the UN development system, and other stakeholders should aim to prevent further imbalance between core and non-core resources, while giving priority to core resources. Moreover, non-core resources from development partners must be flexible, and aligned with national strategic plans and priorities.

8- The Group of 77 and China reiterates the need for developed countries to fulfill their commitments regarding Official Development Assistance (ODA) to developing countries and to provide genuine debt relief to LDCs, in order to enhance the global partnership for sustainable development.

Madame President,

9- The Group would also like to stress on the important role of the private sector in incentivizing efforts in supporting developing countries to build their respective capacities. This should also encompass providing technical cooperation to help assist their national statistical systems in collecting high quality data in order to improve the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. We further highlight the significant role performed by the private sector in promoting the financial inclusion of women and to ensure their full and productive employment.

10- We underscore the need for the private sector to adopt sustainable practices, and foster long-term quality investments that will, amongst other things, assist our countries to industrialize and to create as well decent work for our people and the youth.

11- The Group of 77 and China looked forward to the continuation of the ECOSOC partnership Forum discussions this year on the principles and guidelines for UN- associated partnership. In this connection, we stress the need for further deliberations on ways to enhance Member States' oversight, and monitoring of partnership initiatives involving the United Nations. This will enable us to examine and adopt guidelines aiming at improving transparency, coherence, accountability, and due diligence in these initiatives entered between the United Nations and the private sector, including with non-governmental organizations, philanthropic organizations, academia, and civil society.

12- The Group further underlines that comprehensive discussions on partnership proposals, and proposed work streams, is a Member States led process as it will be extensively and comprehensively addressed during the negotiations of the General Assembly resolution entitled "Towards Global Partnerships" taking place later this year. This constitutes the intergovernmental framework that establishes the overall modalities for partnership arrangements.

13- Finally, the Group of 77 and China expresses its readiness to work with all available stakeholders in order to encourage partnership initiatives to enhance efforts of our countries with regards to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Thank You.