Mr. President,

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

1. The deep social impact of the global financial and economic crises, as well as the challenges posed by climate change and the loss of biodiversity, requires a truly global, universal and integrated response. In this context, the G77 and China reaffirms that the United Nations is the organization that must play the central role and has the legitimacy to deal with global economic governance and development and related issues

2. Given its universality, legitimacy and mandate, the UN is an appropriate venue to discuss the global economic and financial affairs and ways to meet the needs and challenges of the 21st century.

3. As set forth in its Charter, the role of the UN includes achieving "international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character" and "harmonizing the actions of Nations in the attainment of this common ends". The United Nations is the only global body with universal membership and unquestioned legitimacy and is therefore well positioned to address global economic governance with the objective of reaching sustainable and socially balanced economic development.

4. As recognized by the General Assembly in Resolution 65/94, entitled "The United Nations in global governance", there is a "need for inclusive, transparent and effective multilateral approaches to managing global challenges", and likewise, the General Assembly reaffirmed "the central role of the United Nations in ongoing efforts to find common solutions to such challenges".

Mr. President,

5. Achieving more sustainable and balanced global growth will also require close coordination of macroeconomic policy decisions with other areas of global governance, including those related to the multilateral trading system; aid architecture; poverty eradication and sustainable development, including climate change. A strengthened United Nations framework for enhancing coordination and complementarity should be at the centre of efforts to bridge this gap, building consensus on efficient and effective solutions for global economic, social and environmental issues.

6. Moreover, for the United Nations to fulfill its role in global economic governance is critical to be equipped with the necessary resources and capabilities to effectively and quickly address global challenges.

7. We reiterate the need for mechanisms to ensure increased cooperation and exchanges between the United Nations and International Financial Institutions, as well as the opportunities for contributing to strengthening its development mandates and effectiveness, as part of the ongoing process of reforming and strengthening the international financial and economic system and architecture.

8. The G77 and China further highlights the urgent need for a substantive and comprehensive reform of the international economic and financial system and architecture, including policies, mandates, scope and governance, to better enable it to respond and prevent financial and economic emergencies, effectively promote development and equitably serve the needs of Member States, particularly developing countries. International Financial Institutions in particular must have a clear development orientation.

Mr. President,

9. The current crisis demonstrates the urgent need for introducing internationally harmonized norms and standards for financial regulation and supervision.

10. In that regard, we believe that the current global economic governance architecture is not sufficiently able to react to new global challenges, and that a strong and stable UN mechanism could be established to ensure a coherent approach in the economic sphere such as concerning financial markets, macroeconomic policies, and capital flows.

11. The G77 and China considers that there is a need for a more coherent, and effective response of the UN on issues related to global economic governance. In that regard, an appropriate follow-up mechanism should be established within the UN to bridge the gap between policy making and implementations of commitments in that area.

I thank you, Mr President.