Distinguished Co-facilitators, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,

I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. At the outset allow me to congratulate their Excellencies, the Co-facilitators upon your appointment to conduct the intergovernmental consultations on the draft conclusions and recommendations of the 2024 Forum on FFD Follow-Up. We commend you for convening today's briefing on the roadmap.

The 2024 ECOSOC Forum on FFD Follow- Up will take place at a pivotal time where the world requires to take bold actions to rescue the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and when we commence discussions on the fourth international conference on financing for development. The group remains deeply concerned over the slow progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in developing countries. The efforts by developing countries are undermined by, inter alia, rising financing gap, high debt burden, proliferation of universal coercive measures, and limited fiscal space. This clearly demonstrates that the implementation of the concrete policies and actions contained in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), which is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda, is significantly insufficient. In this regard, we call on the international community to take urgent action to provide the required means of implementation to support developing countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable development.

I therefore wish to express the Group's positions as follows:

First, the group emphasizes that the intergovernmental agreement on 2024 ECOSOC Forum on FFD draft conclusions and recommendations is critical in renewing our collective commitment to realize the 2030 Agenda and achieve the SDGs. Therefore, the draft conclusions and recommendations must contain impactful concrete policies to accelerate the implementation of the seven action areas of the AAAA.

Second, the group appreciates the roadmap on the informal consultations. However, we are concerned about the insufficient time between the release of respective drafts and submission of written comments. The group calls upon the Co-facilitators to provide sufficient time to allow the groups, particularly the G77 and China to coordinate within the group and submit its inputs to the respective drafts.

Third, the group stresses that this year's outcome to be adopted before the fourth international conference on financing for development should be ambitious. The Forum should advance actions that address the financing gap, including the reform of the international financial architecture, reform of the global debt architecture, reform of the international financial institutions, strengthen of international tax cooperation and fulfillment of the ODA commitments. These actions are critical in bridging the financing gap to support the acceleration towards the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Fourth, the group looks forward to the fourth international conference on financing for development that will, inter alia, assess progress made in the implementation of the outcome documents of the previous three conferences, including the obstacles and constraints encountered, and agree on the actions required to address the means of implementation to accelerate the realization of the 2030 Agenda.

Finally, the group remains committed to engage in the consultations actively and constructively, with a view to reaching a consensus-based outcome that advances the implementation of the seven action areas of the AAAA. We urge the Co-facilitators to take into account several intergovernmental processes currently ongoing at the UN as you plan for the subsequent consultations.

I thank you.