Mr. President,

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

2. This year's coordination segment of the Council affords us a timely and appropriate occasion to focus on the implementation of existing mandates on coordination on two main issues: The follow-up to the International Conference on Financing for Development; and the follow-up to the 2010 Ministerial Declaration on "implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to gender equality and the empowerment of women".

3. Regarding the first issue, the G77 and China believes that it is important to strengthen the coherence, coordination and cooperation on financing for development, taking into consideration the key role of the ECOSOC.

4. In that sense, the Group welcomes the discussions held in the context of the high-level meeting of the Economic and Social Council with the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the UNCTAD, and highlights that the summary of the President of the Council on this meeting provides a good reflection of the discussions.

5. The G77 and China expresses deep concern about the ongoing adverse impacts of the global financial and economic crisis on development, including on the capacity of developing countries to mobilize resources for development. The Group also recognizes that, while global growth is returning, there is a need to sustain the recovery, and acknowledges that an effective response requires timely implementation of all development commitments, including existing aid commitments.

6. We also reaffirm that each country must take primary responsibility for its own development and that national efforts should be complemented by supportive global programmes, measures and policies aimed at expanding the development opportunities of developing countries, while taking into account national conditions and ensuring respect for national ownership, strategies and sovereignty.

7. The Group also welcomes this opportunity to discuss the role of the UN in implementing the Ministerial Declaration of 2010 High-level Segment of ECOSOC, which dealt with implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to gender equality and the empowerment of women.

8. It has to be noted that the adoption of the Ministerial Declaration coincided with the establishment of UN Women, by the General Assembly. In that regard, the coordination segment also provides an opportunity to assess how the new architecture contributes and will contribute to promoting attention for gender issues across all areas and its strong linkages with the broader development agenda.

9. In particular, it is important to enhance the economic empowerment of women in the context of the global economic and environmental crises. In that regard, the United Nations system plays an active role in promoting the integration of women into the formal economy.

10. At the same level it is also relevant to acknowledge the crucial role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, and advancing the recognition of the role of rural women as agents of change and drivers of agriculture and food security. Efforts to promote decent work for rural women are urgently needed in areas such as access to productive resources, credit and technology.

11. The G-77 and China believes that greater efforts are needed to support developing countries towards achieving the internationally agreed goals and commitments on gender and the empowerment of women, including through the fulfillment of all commitments on official development assistance, debt relief, market access, financial and technical support and capacity building.

12. In conclusion, Mr. President, the Group reiterates its view of the importance of the ECOSOC in guiding system-wide coordination of UN activities and programmes in the economic and social fields. At this juncture, we call to further strengthen coordination between and beyond the United Nations system agencies addressing all the international agreed development goals, including the MDGs.