Your Excellency. Mr. Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Your Excellency. Mrs. Acting President of the General Assembly,
Your Excellency. Ms. Administrator of UNDP,
Your Excellency Mr. Secretary-General of UNCTAD,
Your Excellency Mr. Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs,
Mr. Executive Secretary of the Group of 77,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,

1- At the outset, please allow me to express my great pleasure, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Yemen, to assume the chairmanship of the Group of 77 for 2010. I would like to reiterate my sincere thanks and appreciation to the Asian Group for its support of Yemen's candidature. I would also like to extend our sincere thanks to all the members of the G-77 and China for their endorsement of Yemen's election to this high post. It is a great honour for my country to undertake this important role of representing the Group and defending its interests at the United Nations and other international fora. I assure you that we will spare no effort to serve the interests of the G-77 and China at this complex juncture in world affairs.

2- As we begin this noble task, I can only express our deepest thanks to the sisterly Republic of the Sudan for its capable leadership of our Group last year. In particular, I would like to thank my brother, Ambassador Abdel-Mahmoud Abdel-Halim Mohamed and his team in the delegation of the Sudan for their tireless efforts to accommodate the different concerns of the member states. I also thank Mr. Mourad Ahmia, the Executive Secretary of the Group and his competent for their notable efforts and continued support of our work.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

3- During its tenure in the chairmanship of the Group, Yemen will work tirelessly in cooperation with all the Member States of the Group to further coordinate our efforts to strengthen the Group's unity and solidarity in the face of the challenges that lie before us and to enhance our role as a major negotiator in the United Nations system that protects the interests of developing countries. We will uphold the lofty principles and values, upon which our Group was founded as we seek to attain our economic interests, develop our collective ability to negotiate important, global economic issues within the United Nations system and promote South-South, as well as North-South, development cooperation.

4- The Republic of Yemen views its role in 2010 on the basis of our deep understanding of these principles and values. We will do our utmost to promote the unity, solidarity and coherence of the G-77 and China. We will be fully open, cooperative and accessible to everyone and we shall always act on the basis of mutual trust since we believe that the global challenges facing our world require cooperation and coordination, not discord and polarization, so that we can address these challenges and realize the aspirations of our peoples.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

5- At present, the world is facing an extremely complex financial, economic and environmental situation. In spite of the huge efforts that developing countries have made since 2000, with a view to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), successive world crises over the past few years have eroded the progress they made and made it more difficult for them to achieve these desired goals by the year 2015. Today, developing countries are faced with the aftermath of the world financial crisis and its repercussions on the world economy, while they still have not overcome the impact of the food crisis of 2008, the subsequent rise in food prices, the spread of hunger and starvation and the widening poverty margin that now includes more than one billion people.

6- The repercussions of the global financial and economic crisis on developing countries have been catastrophic due to the collapse of trade, the decline of basic commodity prices, the flight of capital, the increase in lending costs, the imposition of restrictions on Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the sharp reduction in foreign investments. In many developing countries, particularly the least developed countries (LDCs), these combined factors have led to cutbacks in public and private spending on social services such as health, education and poverty reduction programmes.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

7- The agenda of 2010 is filled with important events and programmes that pose great challenges to our Group but also provide great opportunities to adopt policies and decisions that secure our interests regarding important issues in accordance with our vision, our principles and our lofty goals.

8- During its tenure, the Republic of Yemen will continue its efforts to follow up the implementation of the recommendations and decisions of the United Nations Summit Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis held in New York last June. While we are aware of the fact that the process of recovery that the world has recently witnessed remains fragile and that there is still much to be done, developing countries need additional resources to implement the necessary policies to deal with cyclical fluctuations. There is a need for comprehensive reform of the financial market systems in order to prevent the recurrence of the problems that led to the crisis. There is also a need for structural reforms in the management of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), taking into account the new economic situation and giving more status and wider representation to developing countries.

9- In this regard, we stress the importance for the international community to bear its responsibility to provide assistance to developing countries that are most adversely affected by the global financial and economic crisis. We look forward to the launching of substantive work of the Ad-hoc Open-Ended Working Group of the General Assembly, established pursuant to the final document of the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development. We also look forward to the general debate that will take place during the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development to be held on 16-17 March of this year.

10- The summit meeting to review the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to be held in September this year, is one of the most important, major events on our agenda. The realization of the MDGs has become a constant concern for developing countries, particularly since most of these goals may not be achieved by 2015, due to successive world crises, unless developed countries demonstrate the necessary political will to meet their commitment to allocate 0.07% of their Gross National Income (GNI) to Official Development Assistance (ODA), in addition to providing other sources of finance. Ten years after the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the obstacles that prevent developing countries from realizing them at the national level have become clear, namely the lack of financial resources and the absence of a favorable international environment, which, in turn, means failure to achieve Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development. We shall therefore seek to enable the upcoming summit to prepare a comprehensive assessment showing the achievement levels of each goal, to set out specific targets and criteria to measure the achievement levels of Goal 8, similar to the other seven goals, and to determine what needs to be done to ensure the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, so that we can make tangible progress in the five remaining years.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

11- The phenomenon of climate change is one of the greatest challenges of modern times. Its effects not only threaten development efforts, poverty reduction programmes and many other sectors in developing countries, particularly the most affected among them, including the least developed countries (LDCs), land-locked developing countries (LLDCs), small island developing states (SIDS) and African countries, they also endanger the very existence of many of these countries. Some of these countries may actually disappear from the face of the earth, if the situation remains unchanged. It has therefore become incumbent upon the international community, particularly the developed countries given their historical responsibility, to address the challenge of climate change by preparing the necessary policies and measures within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. The Republic of Yemen is confident that in the next United Nations Conference on Climate Change to be held in Mexico City from 29 November - 10 December 2010, we will be able to achieve what was not achieved in Copenhagen, based on the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" that was embodied in the Framework Convention on Climate Change - the only available structure to deal with this challenge.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

12- South-South cooperation acquires great importance since it represents the best form of solidarity and interdependence among the members of our Group. It gives impetus to development by making it possible to learn from successful experiments and experiences in the development, economic and technical fields. During the course of this year, many important events relating to South-South cooperation will be taking place, starting with the meeting of the United Nations High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation in New York next month, followed by the Thirteenth Session of the Intergovernmental Follow-up and Coordination Committee on Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries to be held this year in Asia, in the context of preparations for the third South Summit to be held this year in Africa. The preparation of the Third South Summit at this significant juncture provides a valuable opportunity to expand, deepen and promote further cooperation, including tri-lateral cooperation, among the countries of the South as they confront the financial and economic challenges before the developing world. The Republic of Yemen, in cooperation with the G-77 and China, will make every possible effort to ensure the success of the Summit and the adoption of decisions and recommendations that promote this type of cooperation and serve the interests of our nations.

13- Yemen's chairmanship of the G-77 coincides with the United Nations Declaration of 2010 an International Year of Biodiversity. The preservation of biodiversity is extremely important for developing countries since they rely on natural resources for food and sustenance, and since their economies mainly rely on agricultural products, livestock and fisheries. Yemen looks forward to participating actively in the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Biodiversity to be held in September of this year. Over the next few months, and in cooperation with all the members of our Group and with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity, we will strive to complete the preparation of a multi-year plan of work for South-South cooperation in the field of biodiversity for development. We shall also prepare a draft resolution on this issue to be submitted for adoption at the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity, to be held in Japan from 18 to 29 October 2010. The work plan aims at achieving the three goals of the convention, as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

14- There is no doubt that social development is given a special priority by the members of the Group of 77 and China. This year coincides with the fifteenth anniversary of the World Summit on Social Development held in Copenhagen in March 1995, which was the first world summit on this issue and which culminated in the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, which pledged to eradicate absolute poverty, support full employment, and decent work for all, and promote social integration, as the three main pillars of social development. In this regard, Yemen will do its best to defend the interests of the Group and achieve its objectives in this field.

15- This year also coincides with the fifteenth anniversary of the World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995. Therefore, the 54th session of the Committee on the Status of Women, which will take place in March of this year, acquires special importance since it will review the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the Twenty Third Special Session of the General Assembly of 2000. This review, and the conclusions it will reach, will undoubtedly enrich the relevant meetings of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and of the General Assembly that will be held later in the year. It will also provide a timely opportunity to assess the progress made in implementation in the crucial areas of concern, to build upon this progress, to determine the obstacles and challenges encountered and to find the appropriate solutions they require.

16- This year, the General Assembly will consider two important agenda items, namely procurement activities and human resources management. The Republic of Yemen notes that the size of procurement at the United Nations headquarters, in peacekeeping missions or at other United Nations offices has significantly increased, requiring all of us to work on improving procurement functions and promoting internal oversight. We would therefore stress the importance of diversity among vendors and the need for international competition that includes developing countries and countries with economies in transition. With regard to human resources management, Yemen stresses the need to improve this management, particularly with a view to achieving the dual goal of geographical representation and gender balance among the staff.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

17- The chairmanship of the G-77 will continue to expand strategic partnerships with different United Nations development agencies and organizations at the level of the six Chapters of the Group, pursuant to the decisions of the Second South Summit, in order to strengthen the substantive positions of the G-77 and China and to enhance the institutional capacity of our Executive Secretariat in accordance with the relevant mandates of the South Summits. We shall also seek to promote cooperation and Coordination with the Non-Aligned Movement, through our Joint Coordinating Committee, to further develop and reinforce our common positions.

18- In conclusion, please allow me to reiterate my sincere thanks and appreciation to all the member states of the G-77 and China for the trust they have invested in my country, Yemen, as we assume the Chairmanship of the Group in 2010. We assure you that the trust you put in us will always guide our efforts, as we work tirelessly to defend the interests and objectives of our Group in different international fora.

Thank you.