Mr. President,

1. At the outset, I would like to thank you for organising these workshops as per General Assembly resolution 67/203.

2. As we embark on the process of sustainable development and look towards a global 'transformative' development agenda, technology plays a key role in addressing development challenges across a wide scope of cross-cutting sustainability dimensions, as in food and agriculture, water, energy, green industry development, and chemicals and waste management.

3. Developing countries rely heavily on technology in order to shift to a more sustainable development path. To help developing countries overcome certain obstacles to economic expansion and growth so as to achieve specific development goals, it is imperative that we seize the opportunity to bridge the technological divide so as to promote sustainable industralisation and inclusive growth across the developing world.

Mr. President,

4. The Rio+20 Outcome Document recognised technology as one of the key 'means of implementation' along with finance, capacity building and trade. In response to paragraph 273 of this Document, the Secretary-General has made, in his report (A/67/348), recommendations to the General Assembly regarding a technology facilitation mechanism that promotes the development, transfer and dissemination of clean and environmentally sound technologies. His report provided an overview of proposals, outlining recommendations on the possible functions, format and working methods of a technology facilitation mechanism, as well as on a potential global way forward, suggesting the establishment of an intergovernmental working group to agree on the details of such a mechanism.

5. The Group of 77 supported the findings of the report and its conclusions with regard to the establishment of an intergovernmental working group to agree on establishing a global mechanism for technology facilitation. We understood some countries were of the view that we should first have more in-depth discussions on options to move forward. This is the reason it has been agreed on holding a series of four one-day workshops in order to discuss the matter further.

6. Following the spirit of the Rio+20 Conference and the need to fulfill its mandate, the Group of 77 believes that the objective of these workshops should be focusing on how to move forward with regard to the creation of a technology facilitation mechanism. As pointed out earlier, technology is one of the key means of implementation, and is a crucial part of Rio+20 Conference's outcome. In our view, the outcome of the Conference should be dealt with as a package, where the progress in achieving different elements is linked to progress made with respect to the means of implementation, particularly in finance, technology and capacity building.

7. In order to ensure the efficiency of these workshops and their coherence with the mandate from the Rio+20 Conference, as well as the General Assembly resolution 67/203, I would like to highlight the following two points:

- Firstly, the workshops should maintain the focus on the needs of developing countries, and how to address them through international cooperation, bearing in mind the establishment of the technology facilitation mechanism as the ultimate objective. We note that the background and concept papers solely focus on South-South cooperation without mentioning the North-South aspect of technology facilitation. In line with commitments made in major UN conferences and summits, North-South cooperation should be the priority and the principal element of discussion;
- Secondly, the scope and focus of the Concept Note and programme should reflect accurately the elements included in the Rio+20 Outcome Document and General Assembly resolution 67/203. Accordingly, the four workshops should address respectively the identification of technology needs of developing countries; the different options to address the technology needs of developing countries; the capacity building in developing countries in the field of technology; and options for a technology facilitation mechanism and the way forward in this regard.

Mr. President,

8. As for the way forward, the Group of 77 is of the view that the workshops should not restrict the scope of deliberations and discussions to options based on existing structures and frameworks. While the Rio+20 Conference called for the avoidance of duplication with existing structures, it did not restrict the discussion of these workshops to existing structures. Possibilities for creating any new mechanisms should also be considered.

9. The Group of 77 notes that work and discussion on technology transfer is also taking place in other fora such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Intellectural Property Organisation (WIPO), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However, there is little progress thus far.

10. As we stress the need for a 'transformational' change in the framework of SDGs and the post-2015 development agenda, it is difficult to envisage how this could take place without making a break through with regard to international cooperation in the field of technology transfer. The lack of progress at these international organisations strengthen the case for an international mechanism that takes charge of this task, taking into account existing models, and providing collective and coordinated solutions. As such, there is an urgent need for a technology facilitation mechanism that can assist with the acceleration of technology progress on a global scale, one that commensurate with the sustainable development challenge.

Mr. President,

11. In light of the discussions taking place in these consultative workshops on technology, and as a follow up on the outcome of these discussions, the Group of 77 and China is considering the possibility of tabling a resolution in the General Assembly on establishing a global mechanism on technology facilitation with the aim to promoting the development, transfer and dissemination of clean and environmentally sound technologies to developing countries.

Thank you.