Mr. President,

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

The inter-linkages between culture and development are multi-faceted. While the full extent of these inter-linkages is yet to be explored, there is a growing consensus that strategies to achieve development goals have to be embedded in the cultural traditions of each society. According to the MDG report of 2010, culture is one of the foremost resources required to achieve international development.

Culture has been used as a guiding source of alleviating poverty, and for ensuring economic success in many regions. Culture has also been used in the advancement of health and education issues, as well as addressing issues of sustainable development by driving development within a number of cultural industry sectors, including the creative industries, cultural tourism and both tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

Mr. President,

As we have seen in the resolution on Culture and Development in 2012 (A/RES/66/208), the importance of culture is increasing in relation to development. A major theme of the resolution is that of addressing the eradication of poverty through economic and cultural means.

We recognize that for development to be universal there needs to be cultural balance and harmony. This culture sensitive approach is likely to yield much better results than an approach that is based on one size fits all. Therefore it is important that we continue to discuss how best each country can implement a plan on 'culture and development' thereby enhancing the overall development process. These discussions will be an important contribution to the post 2015 development agenda, negotiations.

Mr. President,

The report by the Secretary General on "Science, technology and innovation, and the potential of culture for promoting sustainable development and achieving the Millennium Development Goals" (2013) also highlighted the importance of culture in improving the economic situation in countries. By increasing the number of jobs for cultural heritage promotion and for the production of goods and services, countries can address their poverty levels and increase economic standings.

Culture also helps to realize the potential and implementation of the MDGs as culture involves a human centered approach that is adapted according to local practices and local understandings. The increase of culture in the implementation of MDGs will assist sustainable development by maintaining cultural perspectives and allowing greater local control of the development process.

Mr. President,

The Group of 77 recognises the importance of effective integration and mainstreaming of culture into social, environmental and economic development policies at all levels. The Group believes the following culture parameters need attention:

- raising public awareness on the importance of cultural diversity for sustainable development,
- capacity-building in fields relating to culture,
- support for the emergence of local markets for cultural goods and services,
- the preservation and protection of local and indigenous traditional knowledge and community practices of environmental management to foster synergies between modern science, innovation and technology and local and indigenous knowledge, practices and innovation,
- promoting global awareness about the linkages between cultural and biological diversity, including through the protection of customary use of biological resources in accordance with traditional cultural practices,
- support for national legal framework and policies for the protection and preservation of cultural heritage and cultural property, the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property and the return of cultural property in accordance with national legislation and applicable international legal frameworks,
- enhancing international cooperation in supporting the efforts of developing countries for the development and consolidation of cultural industries.

Mr. President, culture is both an enabler and driver of development, and it is important that culture is recognized as such in the post-2015 development agenda. The Group will play its due role in ensuring the promotion of culture and development through continuous dialogue and negotiations.

I thank you Mr. President.