The Group of 77 and China thanks the co-facilitators for their tireless efforts and for conducting these important consultations in an inclusive and transparent manner. While the Group recognizes the progress made, we believe that the zero draft can be further strengthened to become more ambitious, forward-looking, and action-oriented. The Group calls for a more balanced approach across sections.

The Group also kindly requests that the co-facilitators take into account the full engagement of our experts in the intensive negotiations of the Second Committee, as well as in major ongoing processes such as COP30 and other high-level events taking place at the end of a very demanding year. In this regard, the Group hopes that the scheduling of future meetings and deadlines will allow for the necessary flexibility to ensure the effective and meaningful participation of all delegations in this complex and important process.

We also request that textual negotiations be conducted.

This Review comes at a critical juncture when digital technologies are reshaping economies, societies, and governance systems worldwide. For developing countries, this transformation presents both unprecedented opportunities and deepening inequalities that must be addressed collectively.

The Group reaffirms that the WSIS process must remain development-oriented, people-centered, and inclusive. It must continue to serve as a framework for closing all digital divides, between and within countries, particularly between developing and developed countries, and for ensuring that all nations can equitably benefit from the digital revolution. The eradication of poverty, as reaffirmed in the 2030 Agenda, remains the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

We express concern over persistent digital divides and reffirm the need for strengthened international cooperation to address the capacity and financial challenges that developing countries face that hinder them from achieving universal meaningful connectivity and benefitting more fully from the digital economy. We have proposals to strengthen the text and the WSIS architecture in this regard.

        We reaffirm the Tunis Agenda and Geneva Declaration and Plan of Action of the WSIS and need to be guided by its vision.

The Group underscores the sovereign right of States to regulate their digital domains consistent with international law and their national priorities. Safeguarding this policy space is vital to ensuring that digital governance supports domestic development objectives and respects cultural, linguistic, and ethical diversity. The Group therefore supports amendments reaffirming sovereignty, inclusivity, and multilateral coherence as guiding principles of the WSIS+20 outcome.

We recognize the important role of information and communications technologies in promoting the 2030 Agenda, including in social welfare, education, health, disaster management, and economic inclusion. Yet, the Group is also concerned by new risks We call for enhanced global cooperation to foster digital literacy, enabling all people to navigate the digital environment safely.

We reiterate that global digital governance must be multilateral, democratic, transparent, and inclusive. Enhanced cooperation, as mandated by the Tunis Agenda, remains unfinished business. The Internet must remain open, global, interoperable, secure, and stable, free from monopolization or extraterritorial control. The Group stresses that policy authority for Internet-related public policy issues rests with States, to be exercised in accordance with international law.

Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies offer transformative potential to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals. The Group supports the establishment of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, while underscoring the importance of equitable representation of developing countries and the establishment of a Global Fund on AI for capacity-building.

We note with great concern that the zero draft did not include the rejection of unilateral coercive measures, despite this being agreed language in the founding documents of WSIS in Geneva and Tunis, WSIS+10, all follow-up documents on this issue, the 2030 Agenda, and the Pact for the Future. Currently, and more than ever before, 76 countries and one-third of the world's population are affected by such measures, which constitute one of the greatest obstacles to achieving the SDGs.

Finally, the Group underlines that follow-up and review of the WSIS outcomes must remain anchored within the United Nations, through transparent intergovernmental mechanisms ensuring full participation of developing countries. Only through genuine international cooperation, solidarity, and shared responsibility can we achieve an inclusive digital future that leaves no one behind.

Thank you.