Mr. Chairman,

1. have the honor to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 134 in relation to Strengthening the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa and the International Trade Centre.

2. The Group wishes to thank Mr. Johannes Huisman, Director of the Programme Planning and Budget Division for introducing the Secretary General's reports on this Agenda Item, as well as the Chair of the ACABQ, Mr. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, for introducing related reports of the Advisory Committee.

Mr. Chairman,

3. By its resolution 57/300, the General Assembly endorsed the creation of the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa and entrusted to it the role of coordinating reports and global advocacy in support of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

4. Since its inception in May 2003, the Office delivered its mandate which has included, inter alia, supporting the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council in their deliberations on Africa; coordinating the Interdepartmental/Inter-agency Task Force on Africa to ensure a coherent and integrated approach for United Nations support for Africa, including following up on the implementation of all global summit and conference outcomes related to Africa; and coordinating global advocacy in support of NEPAD.

Mr. Chairman,

5. Africa has been undergoing a significant transformation marked by significant social, political and economic changes over the last ten years since the establishment of the Office, including sustained high economic growth, strengthened democracy and a significant reduction in the number of conflicts in the continent.

6. Yet, despite this progress, Africa still faces a number of challenges. High economic
growth rates have not translated into shared prosperity for all. Africa has not experienced meaningful employment creation, nor has it seen a substantial reduction in poverty.

7. Mindful of the need for a strengthened approach to support Africa, the General Assembly adopted resolution 66/293 establishing a UN monitoring mechanism to review commitments made towards Africa's development needs, with the mandate for the implementation of the monitoring mechanism vested in the Office of the Special Adviser for Africa.

Mr. Chairman,

8. The Group strongly supports the proposal of the Secretary General to strengthen the Office of the Special Adviser for Africa to enable it to implement its existing and new expanded mandate more effectively. We do believe that, given the very limited resources of the Office, it cannot implement the new additional mandate within its existing resources, since its current staff are fully engaged in the implementation of existing mandates.

Mr. Chairman,

9. The Group attaches as much importance to the International Trade Centre, its mandated activities of fostering sustainable economic development and contributing to achieving the Millennium Development Goals in developing countries and countries with economies in transition through trade and international business have proven very effective in developing countries.

10. In this regard, the Group believes that the Centre should be provided with the appropriate resources to continue performing its mandates uninterrupted. The Group will closely analyze the Secretary General's proposed reductions in post and non-post resources for the biennium 2014-2015. We will also be seeking for explanations as to the high vacancy rate for this subprogramme.

Mr. Chairman,

11. Lastly, the Group would like to encourage the ITC management to redouble its efforts in reducing the gap in the distribution of staff at the senior management level by gender and nationality to improve representation from the developing world.

Mr. Chairman,

12. Finally, the Group of G77 and China stands ready to engage in a constructive dialogue on those two issues. We look forward to the informal consultations on this agenda item.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.