Mr. Chair,

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

Item 21 (a): Follow-up to the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries

The Group of 77 and China reaffirms that the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) remain central to achieving the 2030 Agenda. LDCs face deep structural constraints, fragile productive capacities, weak infrastructure, and severe vulnerability to external shocks, climate change, pandemics, and volatile global conditions. Their sustainable development depends on a predictable and supportive international environment with adequate resources.

The Group reiterates its full support for the Doha Programme of Action (2022-2031) as a blueprint for structural transformation, productive capacity-building, equitable trade, resilience, and social inclusion. National leadership must be complemented by scaled-up and sustained international cooperation.

We urge partners to fulfill ODA commitments, allocating 0.15-0.20% of GNI to LDCs, and to expand concessional finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building. The Group also stresses the need for urgent reforms of the global financial architecture to enhance fairness, representation, and access for developing countries.

The Group supports the 2027 Midterm Review of the DPoA, which should renew political commitment, address gaps, and operationalize innovative tools, such as the Sustainable Graduation Support Facility, and strengthen OHRLLS to better serve LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS.

Item 21 (b): Follow-up to the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries

The Group welcomes the Programme of Action for the Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2024-2034, adopted by the General Assembly. LLDCs continue to face unique structural challenges stemming from their lack of direct access to the sea, high transport and transit costs, and limited connectivity to global markets. These factors severely constrain trade, economic diversification, and industrialization.

The Group emphasizes the urgent need for strengthened international and regional partnerships to address these persistent obstacles. Priorities must include developing efficient transit corridors, expanding physical and digital infrastructure, promoting value addition and export diversification, and harnessing science, technology, and innovation as drivers of transformation.

We urge development partners to ensure the full implementation of all previous and new commitments to LLDCs through predictable financing, debt relief, technology transfer, and capacity-building support. The Group reaffirms that South-South cooperation remains an indispensable complement to North-South cooperation and expresses its solidarity with LLDCs in implementing the new Programme of Action.

Item 23 (a): Operational Activities for Development of the United Nations System

The Group of 77 and China stresses that operational activities for development constitute the core development function of the United Nations system. These activities must remain country-driven, grant-based, universal, and voluntary, and must fully respect the national ownership, leadership, and policy space of programme countries.

We are deeply concerned by the declining share of core resources and the growing dependence on earmarked funding, which undermines the coherence, neutrality, and effectiveness of the UN development system. The Group therefore calls for adequate, predictable, and flexible funding.

The Group urges that the Resident Coordinator system and country teams be equipped with the necessary skills and resources to deliver coherent, demand-driven support aligned with national priorities. We underline that efficiency gains achieved through system-wide coherence must be redirected to strengthen operational capacities for development on the ground.

Item 23 (b): South-South Cooperation for Development

The Group reiterates that South-South cooperation is a vital and growing pillar of international development cooperation. Rooted in solidarity and mutual benefit, it promotes the exchange of experiences, technologies, and resources among developing countries.

While recognizing its increasing impact, the Group stresses that South-South cooperation is not a substitute for North-South cooperation, but a complement that must be supported by strengthened means of implementation, particularly in financing, capacity-building, and technology transfer.

The Group calls for enhanced institutional support from the United Nations system to maximize the contribution of South-South and triangular cooperation toward the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions.

Mr. Chair,

In closing, the Group of 77 and China reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with countries in special situations and its firm commitment to a reinvigorated, equitable, and development-oriented United Nations system that leaves no country and no one behind.