Co-Facilitators,

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

2. We thank you for convening this open consultation and assure you of our commitment to supporting your work. The Group of 77 would like to remind everyone that we are in the middle of July and that we no longer have much time to prepare for this highly important Special Event. The Group of 77 thus wishes to engage on this issue with a sense of urgency and therefore welcomes the second draft of the Outcome Document that you have circulated to Member States.

Co-Facilitators,

3. The draft of the Outcome Document submitted to you on 28 June by the Group of 77 contained the essential priorities of the Group and its expectations on the deliverables of this Special Event. In essence these are: 1) a singular focus on the renewal of political will and redoubling of efforts for the achievement of the MDGs by 2015; 2) reaffirmation of the key principles and outcomes of the relevant international conferences, in particular the Rio+20 conference; 3) commitment to the provision of enhanced means of implementation for the developing countries to assist their efforts for the achievement of MDGs; and 4) a clear political mandate by our leaders for the launch of an intergovernmental negotiation process to arrive at a universal Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Co-Facilitators,

4. The Group of 77 wishes to express its appreciation to you for having considered the draft text presented by the Group, and for your having incorporated some elements from it in your own second draft. The draft text presented by you does capture some of the key priorities of the Group and provides a good working basis for expeditiously completing the process.

Co-Facilitators,

5. In a spirit of constructive engagement, the Group would like to share its views on the 2nd draft of the Outcome Document.

6. First and foremost, it should be unambiguous that the decision to launch a process of intergovernmental negotiations at the beginning of 69th UNGA, and the proposed Summit at HOS/HOG level in September 2015, are for the purpose of adopting a universal Post-2015 Development Agenda. This express statement of purpose is missing in the present draft. The phrase 'post-2015 agenda' should be uniformly replaced with the correct phrase 'Post-2015 Development Agenda' throughout the document. Similarly, the phrase 'three strands' should be replaced with 'three dimensions' of sustainable development, which has been used in the Rio+20 outcome document.

7. While the draft text recognizes the specific circumstances of developing countries, we would prefer a more inclusive and specific approach so that the particular circumstances and vulnerabilities of all sub-groups within developing countries are recognized. It was for this reason that the Group of 77 draft put forward reference to the LDCs, the LLDCs, SIDS, Africa, conflict and post-conflict countries and those countries and peoples under foreign occupation, and the specific challenges facing Middle Income Countries. The Group believes such inclusion reinforces a spirit of inclusivity and solidarity that should underpin this important document.

8. The Group also strongly calls for the reaffirmation of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in this document. This key principle was reaffirmed by our leaders just a year ago at the Rio and its inclusion in the context of the Post-2015 Development Agenda is a non-negotiable for the Group.

9. The Group would like to see strong and positive language on the provision of means of implementation in favour of the developing countries, both in the context of accelerating our efforts for the achievement of MDGs in the period up to 2015 and for the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The provision of meaningful and adequate financial, technological and capacity-building support to the developing countries must be one of the cornerstones of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

10. The Group feels that the tone and emphasis of the section on 'Partnership' in the present draft could be improved in places. To cite just one example, the commitment of providing 0.7% of GNI as ODA is for developed countries and not all countries. Moreover, the target of 0.15 to 0.20% of GNP for ODA to LDCs also needs to be duly mentioned. Consistent with the Group's position on MDG8, we do not think that the issue is just about announcing our desire to mobilize all resources. We believe that like 1-7 MDGs, we should also benchmark and develop indicators against a matrix of commitments. To this end, we would propose that language on MDG8 be clearly strengthened to include the need for monitoring available and future means of implementation to accelerate actions towards the achievement of MDGs. Moreover, ODA should not be seen as a complement to other sources of financing for development. On the contrary, ODA should be complemented by such other sources.

11. We also believe that the document should not be over-prescriptive about the shape and content of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Nor should it pre-judge the final outcome of the negotiations that will take place in the 69th Session of the GA. In this sense, we prefer inclusion of a phrase such as a 'universal and integrated agenda,' which was mentioned in our own draft text.

Co-Facilitators,

12. In designing the Roadmap for this process, the Group agrees there should be no parallel process or duplication efforts. In this spirit, our own draft had recognized that the inter-governmental negotiation process would fully take into account the outcomes of the follow-up processes mandated by the Rio+20 conference which are due to conclude at the end of the 68th Session, with the ensuing negotiation process taking place in the 69th Session.

13. The Group of 77 stresses that inputs from various sources, some of which are non-intergovernmental platforms, cannot be placed on the same footing as the central intergovernmental process. The Group acknowledges the great value of such inputs, including the Secretary General's reports, but stresses they are inputs to the intergovernmental negotiation process for the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, which is the essential and central process for the task at hand.

14. We are confident that these elements highlighted by the Group can assist you in further improving the draft Outcome Document. They are presented in order to arrive at an expeditious completion of negotiations on the Outcome Document of this Special Event.

Co-Facilitators,

15. We are hopeful that you will provide us an early opportunity to be able to finalize the Outcome Document, and would encourage you to convene an informal meeting in a negotiation rather than plenary setting to enable direct engagement on finalising this document.

16. Allow me to thank you once again, Co-facilitators, and repeat that you can rely on the positive and constructive engagement of the Group of 77 and China in the few weeks ahead as we move to the completion of this document.

Thank you.