Honourable Heads of State and Government,
Honourable Ministers,
Mr. Secretary General of the United Nations,
Mr. President of the 65th Session of the General Assembly,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. I have the honour and privilege to address the General Assembly on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The Group of 77 and China attaches great importance to this High-level Review of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.

Mr. President,

2. The Group of 77 and China welcomes the convening of this High-Level Meeting to review progress in the Implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA).

3. The Group of 77 and China remains concerned that despite the acknowledged unique and particular vulnerabilities of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), insufficient steps have been taken at the international level to address the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States and support their sustainable development. In Barbados in 1994 and Mauritius in 2005, developed countries committed themselves to provide increased levels of financial support, technology transfer and capacity building to support the sustainable development of SIDS. However, these promises and commitments remain largely unfulfilled.

4. The Group of 77 and China remains concerned over the state of implementation of the BPOA and the MSI. Despite the progress made by Small Island Developing States at the national and regional levels in building the institutional capacity for sustainable development, through formulating strategies and action plans, and in carrying out policy reforms, they, nevertheless, continue to encounter many serious problems and constraints which have slowed down or impeded the process of implementation.

Mr. President,

5. As the Secretary-General has stated, several Small Island Developing States are not on track to achieve the MDGs and some have even regressed. In particular, the impact of the multiple global crises continued to threaten progress and has further widened growing socio-economic disparities in many Small Island Developing States. There is no doubt that the challenges faced by Small Island Developing States have become more, not less, complex in the last few years. Small Island Developing States continue to be particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and their resource constraints are exacerbated by growing population pressures, climate change and the continuous rise of sea level pose a significant risk to Small Island Developing States and their efforts to achieve sustainable development and, for some, represent the gravest of threats to their survival and viability. Moreover, the lack of financial, technical and human resources, relative to the enormity of the tasks to be accomplished represents a common challenge faced by Small Island Developing States across all regions. Many critically needed infrastructure projects that require large investments such as in air and maritime transport, adaptation to climate change and sea level rise, waste management, energy, tourism infrastructure, road and telecommunication infrastructure lie beyond the resources of most Small Island Developing States.

6. The negative impact of the global financial and economic crisis has been particularly devastating to Small Island Developing States given their openness to the global financial and economic system and high dependence on a narrow range of income generating sectors such as tourism.

Mr. President,

7. The Group of 77 and China urges all development partners, in particular, developed countries, to honour and urgently scales- up all commitments related to the Small Island Developing States and in particular those related to the provision of new and additional financial resources, technology transfer, and capacity-building, if Small Island Developing States are to achieve the objective of sustainable development, as set out in the Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy.

8. The Group also urges the international community and the UN system to support the efforts of Small Island Developing States, in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities, for sustainable development, through the full and effective implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation.

I thank you.