Thank you, Madame President, for facilitating these UN80 briefings.

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

2.The Group appreciates the update provided by the Secretary-General, António Guterres, on the UN80 initiative and reaffirms its support for you and for the UN80 initiative overarching objective of achieving "a paradigm shift" in how the UN system organizes its work in order to deliver greater impact on the ground, as well as strengthening multilateralism and international cooperation amid unprecedented challenges.

3.- The Group of 77 and China remains firmly committed to engaging in all relevant deliberations actively and constructively, with the aim of ensuring that all processes are transparent and inclusive, thereby enabling a more effective, efficient, equitable, and truly representative United Nations system. In that regard, while welcoming the convening of this type of briefings, the Group wishes to highlight the need of in depth intergovernmental consultations, with sufficient time and information and transparent processes, on all the work packages that require Member States decision making on structural reforms. Additional guidance from the Secretariat would also be welcomed, particularly bearing in mind the need to determine which specific work packages and actions should be prioritized this year. This would enable Member States to focus on a limited set of concrete and achievable proposals and, in turn, help ensure the delivery of tangible, ambitious and consensus-based results under Workstream 3 of the UN80 Initiative.

4.- With regard to the merger proposals, the Group of 77 and China takes note with appreciation the decision 2026/26 approved last week, by consensus, by the Second Regular Session of the Executive Board of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS, in which Member States decided that the Board is not yet in a position at this time to make a recommendation of support on the proposed mergers between UNDP and UNOPS and UNFPA and UN Women.

5.- At a time of growing financial constraints and increasing development needs, and taking into account the numerous questions and concerns that continue to be raised by Member States across all regional groups regarding the proposed mergers, the Group of 77 and China believes that the necessary conditions are not yet in place at this time to approve structural mergers that would likely entail a prolonged process of institutional restructuring during 2026. In that regard, the Group agrees with the Board's decision to begin exploring alternative options to enhance coordination and efficiency, including through greater operational alignment and coordination, and looks forward to the updates to be provided by the entities to the Executive Board. The Group of 77 and China also wishes to underscore the importance of respecting the prerogatives of the Executive Board, within the scope of its mandate, to assess the information available and decide whether to present recommendations through ECOSOC to the General Assembly.

6.- The Group of 77 and China appreciates the update provided by the Chairs of the AHWG, Ambassador Brian Wallace, Permanent Representative of Jamaica, and Ambassador Merete Fjeld Brattested, Permanent Representative of Norway, as well as their overall work and leadership of the UN80 workstream 2.

7.-The Group takes note of the draft report on criteria and modalities for mandate implementation review, while welcoming the explicit recognition by the Co-Chairs that the criteria and modalities are intended to serve as practical guidance for Member States and are therefore not prescriptive in nature. The Group further underscores that decisions concerning mandates remain the exclusive prerogative of Member States.

Mr. Secretary General,

8.- The Group of 77 and China's remains committed and constructively engaged with the UN80 Initiative, and supports your leadership and vision, as we work together to advance a more effective, efficient, equitable and representative United Nations that strengthens its impact and enhances its support to programme countries.

Thank you.