Mr. Chairman,

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

2. At the outset, allow me to congratulate you on your election. We are honored to be chaired by you this year. We would also like to congratulate the other members of the Bureau on their election to guide the work of this important Committee during the 68th session of the General Assembly. The Group is confident that through your able leadership, our deliberations and negotiations will be smooth and fruitful.

Mr. Chairman,

3. The 68th session of the General Assembly covers a critical period in the history of the United Nations, particularly in the context of setting the stage to usher in a new global development agenda beyond 2015. Three follow-up processes to the Rio+20 Summit of 2012 are now underway, namely, the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals; the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing; and the process to develop a technology facilitation mechanism. These processes should complete their work in a comprehensive, balanced and expeditious manner by September 2014. Inputs from these processes will contribute towards the inter-governmental negotiations beginning in September 2014, which will culminate in a Summit at Heads of State and Government level in September 2015.

4. As we look ahead to a busy year of work at the United Nations, it is important to remind ourselves that the Second Committee deals with a wide range of important development issues, from macroeconomic and trade to operational activities. For the Group of 77 and China, the agenda items under consideration are critical issues affecting all State Members particularly developing countries. In this regard, the Group will submit a number of resolutions under the various agenda items over the next two months. We look forward to constructive engagements with our developed partners.

Mr. Chairman,

5. The Group welcomes the outcome document of the Special Event on MDGs, endorsed by our leaders on 25 September 2013 and adopted as a General Assembly resolution this morning. The outcome document reaffirmed that poverty eradication remains the greatest global challenge today. It calls for renewed commitments to accelerate the achievement of the MDGs by 2015. It also reaffirmed the fundamental principles in particular the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities, which must guide the formulation of Sustainable Development Goals and the elaboration of the post-2015 development agenda.

6. The Group also welcomes the establishment of the High-level Political Forum, which replaces the Commission of Sustainable Development. It is now our collective duty to ensure that this Forum addresses the significant gaps and shortcomings in coordination, cohesion, and implementation in the field of sustainable development, making it a stronger platform with increased political visibility.

7. The Group supports the recommendation contained in the Secretary-General's recent report on "Options for Facilitating the Development, Transfer and Dissemination of Clean and Environmentally Sound Technologies" that the High-level Political Forum could launch a mechanism involving the creation and/or scaling up of several initiatives as proposed in paragraph 86 of the report that promotes the development, transfer and dissemination of clean and environmentally sound technologies to developing countries.

8. Science, technology, innovation (STI) and the potential of culture can significantly impact each of the three pillars of sustainable development. Specifically, STI affects economic growth and the knowledge spill-over it generates between countries, firms and industries. The substantive session of ECOSOC this year put a spot light on the role of STI and the potential of culture in promoting sustainable development and achieving the MDGs. The creation of a technology facilitation mechanism would provide developing countries the opportunity to 'leapfrog' intermediate development stages.

Mr. Chairman,

9. Two days ago, the President of the General Assembly convened a high-level dialogue on financing for development. At that meeting, the Group places great importance on the follow-up to the Monterrey Consensus and Doha Declaration as financing for development links with the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs, as well as advancing the United Nation's development agenda beyond 2015. In this regard, the Group calls for a Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to be held before the end of 2015, in order for the conference to contribute meaningfully to the post-2015 development agenda process. We also call for the establishment of a Financing for Development Commission, subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council, to bridge the gap between policy making and implementation of commitments.

10. The Group underscores the importance of an enhanced predictable and sustainable flow of ODA as essential in meeting the regular development challenges as well as new and emerging challenges in developing countries, in particular in Least Developed Countries. We express our concern that for the second time, ODA fell for two consecutive years, and that developed countries, with a few exceptions, are still far from achieving the longstanding goal of mobilizing 0.7% of GNP as ODA to developing countries, including the target of 0.15-0.20 per cent of GNP to the LDCs.

11. We stress the special needs and development priorities of developing countries in their search for sustainable development. In this regard, we call for further effective measures and actions, including a strengthened global partnership to complement national efforts of developing countries in order to improve the social and economic wellbeing of their people, particularly those living in the LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS, Africa, conflict and post-conflict countries and countries under foreign occupation, as well as addressing specific development challenges facing middle income countries.

Mr. Chairman,

12. The Group of 77 and China has participated actively this year in matters relating to the implementation of the seminal resolution passed by the General Assembly last year providing policy guidance for operational activities for development, namely resolution 67/226 on the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR). It is important that the priority areas identified in the QCPR be effectively implemented, and that appropriate follow-up, monitoring and evaluation of the work being done by the United Nations development system be conducted in a timely manner.

13. As articulated in the QCPR, the contribution of the UN development system is crucial in addressing poverty eradication, capacity-building and development, South-South cooperation and the development of national capacities, transitions from relief to development as well as gender equality and women's empowerment. In this context, the Group welcomes the establishment of an interim coordination mechanism for system-wide evaluation of operational activities for development, and looks forward to engaging with all Member States to agree on the proposals for pilot system-wide evaluations for decision by the end of this year, as agreed in the ECOSOC resolution on operational activities for development in July this year.

14. The resolution on the strengthening of ECOSOC passed recently may require modifications to the reporting cycles agreed by the UN Development System on the implementation of the QCPR. The Group of 77 and China looks forward to working with the UN Development System to ensure that feedback and reporting on QCPR implementation is managed in this transition period as we shift to the new cycle for ECOSOC.

Mr. Chairman,

15. The Group reaffirms that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change. Given the urgency and seriousness of climate change, we call on the international community and States to operationalise the Green Climate Fund by early 2014 and scale up funding to reach the target of US$100 billion per year by 2020.

16. Desertification, land degradation and drought also represent a serious concern for developing countries. International cooperation is urgently required to address these challenges. We underscore the importance of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), particularly in Africa. In this regard, the Group welcomes the outcome of the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD, held from 16-27 September 2013 in Windhoek in Namibia.

Mr. Chairman,

17. The Group welcomes the forthcoming commencement of the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation, scheduled to take place in Bali in December 2013. We believe the Conference would provide an opportunity to advance the Doha Round of trade negotiations and break the longstanding impasse. However, we stress that the outcome of the Bali Conference should not serve the interests of just some Member countries while leaving others behind. We strongly believe the outcome must be balanced and fully respects the WTO's development mandate and take into account the needs and priorities of developing countries.

18. Lastly, we recall that the world financial and economic crisis of 2008 and its subsequent consequences in development have underscored the gaps and shortcomings in global economic and financial governance, including within the International Financial Institutions. The Group reiterates the urgent need for a reformed international financial architecture, one that reflects the realities of the 21st century, to play a constructive and supportive role in the global development agenda. An increased voice for developing countries in global economic and financial governance would be a positive step towards the right direction in our collective efforts to achieve transformative change in the development paradigm.

Thank you!