Co-Chairs,

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

2. We thank you for the draft declaration which you have carefully prepared based on inputs submitted by Member States during the preparatory process. The Group of 77 is of the view that the draft constitutes a good basis for negotiations.

3. The text is fairly broad in scope and covers many issues of importance to Small Island developing states (SIDS) and other developing countries. Importantly, it outlines concrete actions to facilitate the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy (MSI).

4. However, there remains significant room for improvement. As such, the G77 intends to undertake internal consultations on the text over the next few days and will be prepared to negotiate paragraph-by-paragraph on the text at the next informal consultation to be convened by the Co-facilitators. While we understand the challenge you confront in convening additional meetings given the plethora of other meetings being held at this time, it is our hope that every effort will be made to this end.

5. The Group of 77 and China continues to attach great importance to the Five-year High-level Review of the MSI and we look forward to fruitful and constructive engagement with our negotiating partners over the next few weeks as we work towards arriving at a consensus on the draft outcome document.

Co-Chairs,

6. You can be assured of the full support and cooperation of the G77 in your efforts to steer this process towards a successful conclusion.

I thank you Co-Chairs.