Madam Chair,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,

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

At the outset, the Group congratulates you, Madam Chair, and the members of the Bureau on your election. We assure you of our full cooperation and constructive engagement throughout this session.

We meet at a critical juncture for sustainable development. With only a few years remaining until 2030, implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals remains significantly off track. Developing countries continue to face persistent structural challenges, including limited fiscal space, high debt burdens, insufficient development financing, climate change, food and energy insecurity, technological and digital divides, and an increasingly uncertain global economic environment.

These challenges are mutually reinforcing. The international community must therefore respond through strengthened international cooperation, solidarity and multilateralism, supported by adequate means of implementation.

The eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions remains the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. The 2030 Agenda as well as national development priorities must remain at the centre of our collective efforts, with particular attention to the needs and priorities of developing countries and those furthest behind.
Madam Chair,

The Group attaches particular importance to the implementation of the outcomes of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development. The Sevilla Commitment provides an important framework for strengthening international cooperation on financing for sustainable development, and its effective, timely and comprehensive implementation must now be a priority.

The Group calls for adequate, additional, predictable, sustainable and accessible financing for developing countries, in line with their national development strategies and priorities. While domestic resource mobilization remains important, domestic resources alone cannot meet the scale of financing required. International development cooperation, including official development assistance, concessional financing, international tax cooperation and private investment, remains essential.

The Group reiterates the longstanding commitments on official development assistance by developed countries, including the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income for developing countries, from which 0.20 per cent for least developed countries. We also underscore the need to strengthen multilateral development banks and ensure access to affordable, long-term and predictable financing.

The international financial architecture must become more inclusive, equitable, effective and responsive to the needs and priorities of developing countries. The voice, participation and representation of developing countries in international economic decision-making and global economic governance must be strengthened.

Debt sustainability is likewise a critical concern. High debt-servicing obligations and borrowing costs continue to constrain fiscal space and divert resources from poverty eradication, health, education, infrastructure and climate action. The Group therefore supports strengthened international cooperation to address debt vulnerabilities and welcomes efforts towards a more effective, predictable and equitable international debt architecture.

We also underscore the importance of enhanced access to liquidity, including through the effective use and rechanneling of Special Drawing Rights, without imposing undue conditionalities on developing countries.
International tax cooperation is also relevant. We encourage constructive engagement in the negotiations on the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, as well as efforts to combat tax evasion, avoidance and illicit financial flows and to strengthen developing countries' capacity to mobilize domestic resources.

Madam Chair,

International trade remains an important engine of economic growth and sustainable development. The Group reaffirms its commitment to a universal, rules-based, open, transparent, inclusive, predictable, equitable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its core.

The trading system must contribute more effectively to structural transformation, industrialization, productive capacity-building and economic diversification in developing countries. Special and differential treatment must remain an integral part of the multilateral trading system.

The Group remains concerned about increasing fragmentation and trade-restrictive measures that can undermine global economic stability and development prospects. We reiterate our longstanding position against the promulgation and application of any unilateral coercive measures that impede economic and social development of the affected people, especially in developing countries.

Madam Chair,

Sustainable development remains at the heart of the work of the Second Committee. The Group reaffirms its commitment to the full and effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda and other internationally agreed development commitments, and respecting national development priorities.

Climate change continues to impose significant economic, social and developmental costs on developing countries. Climate action must therefore be accompanied by adequate means of implementation, including new, additional, predictable and accessible climate finance, technology transfer and capacity-building. Adaptation, resilience and addressing loss and damage require strengthened international support, as well as investments on green transition, in accordance with the respective international obligations under the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement.

The Group also attaches importance to biodiversity, combating desertification, sustainable land management, disaster risk reduction and sustainable energy. Universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy is essential for poverty eradication, industrialization, economic diversification and achievement of the SDGs.

Resilient agriculture and food systems likewise require greater investment, technology, infrastructure, capacity-building and access to markets, particularly to strengthen food security and support small-scale producers.

Science, technology and innovation are critical enablers of sustainable development. The Group calls for strengthened international cooperation to bridge technological and digital divides through technology transfer on fair and equitable terms, capacity-building, digital infrastructure, connectivity, skills and research and development.

Artificial intelligence presents both opportunities and challenges. Developing countries must participate meaningfully in shaping its international governance. AI governance should remain inclusive, development-oriented and anchored in multilateral cooperation, while respecting national sovereignty, national circumstances, development priorities and policy space.

South-South and triangular cooperation can make an important contribution through the exchange of knowledge, technology, expertise and best practices. At the same time, South-South cooperation remains a complement to, and not a substitute for, North-South cooperation.

Madam Chair,

The Group reaffirms the importance of addressing the specific needs and vulnerabilities of countries in special situations.

Least developed countries require strengthened support for the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action. Landlocked developing countries require enhanced international cooperation to address transport and transit costs, infrastructure deficits, connectivity and trade barriers. Small Island Developing States continue to face unique vulnerabilities arising from their size, remoteness, limited economies of scale and exposure to climate change and natural disasters, making full implementation of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS essential.
The development challenges of middle-income countries must likewise receive appropriate international cooperation, including access to development finance, technology and capacity-building.

The Group reaffirms the importance to uphold the full realization of the right of self-determination of peoples living under colonial and foreign occupation, which continue to adversely affect their economic and social development as well as their environment.

The Group also reaffirms, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, the need to respect the territorial integrity and political independence of States.

The specific needs of countries in special situations must be reflected across the work of the Second Committee and in implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Madam Chair,

The United Nations development system has a central role in supporting countries in their pursuit of sustainable development. Operational activities for development must remain country-driven, demand-driven, grant-based, universal and voluntary, while fully respecting national ownership, leadership and policy space.

Adequate, predictable and flexible resources are essential for the United Nations development system to provide coherent and effective support aligned with national development priorities. The Resident Coordinator system and United Nations country teams must be adequately resourced to provide integrated and demand-driven support at country level.

The Group also attaches importance to the revitalization of the work of the Second Committee. We support efforts to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness while safeguarding its intergovernmental, inclusive and transparent character. Revitalization should facilitate, rather than constrain, substantive consideration of development issues.

The Group reiterates the importance of text-based negotiations, transparency, inclusivity and adequate time for substantive consideration of draft resolutions.

Madam Chair,

The Second Committee has a critical responsibility at this decisive point in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The international community has no shortage of agreed commitments. What is required now is strengthened political will, international cooperation and concrete implementation and therefore the theme for this 81st session is extremely fitting.

The Group of 77 and China therefore calls for renewed efforts to close the financing gap, address debt vulnerabilities, reform the international financial architecture, strengthen international tax cooperation, preserve an open and equitable multilateral trading system, bridge digital and technological divides, address climate and environmental challenges, and provide targeted support to countries in special situations.

Above all, sustainable development requires genuine international cooperation and solidarity. Development must remain at the centre of the multilateral agenda, and implementation of the 2030 Agenda must remain a shared responsibility.

The Group of 77 and China stands ready to engage constructively with all Member States and partners throughout the eighty-first session, with a view to advancing concrete outcomes that strengthen the means of implementation, accelerate sustainable development and contribute to ensuring that no country and no one is left behind.

I thank you.