Distinguished Presidents, Excellencies,

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

2. Let me, at the outset, express our appreciation for the continuing efforts to enhance synergies and coherence in the work of the United Nations General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and their subsidiary bodies, as well as the related high-level forums aligned, in particular, with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. These synergies are needed today more than ever.

3. And with just nine years remaining for its implementation, it is ever more imperative that we work collectively towards achieving the Goals of the 2030 Agenda, as well as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, through multilateral cooperation in support of national efforts. No country or region can on its own fulfil the vision set out in these landmark documents. As we celebrate this year the 76th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, the Group of 77 and China strongly reaffirms its commitment to the multilateralism system.

4.This year the UN is going through a context where the world is simultaneously confronted with major crises of global dimension such as climate change, environmental degradation growing digital divide and rising socio- economic inequalities. The COVID-19 pandemic has further aggravated these existing global challenges and is causing severe impacts on our societies and economies. Today more than ever, we need to address and meet global challenges with enhanced unity, solidarity, renewed multilateral cooperation and global response. Thus, the importance of declaring vaccines and treatments for COVID19 as global public good and accessible worldwide.

5. Based on the Group’s principles and priorities, we wish to underscore the importance of the 2030 Agenda and the full implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with special focus on the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions. The SDGs underpin our values and the international community’s sustainable future.

6. In this regard, we will continue our efforts in the 2021 alignment process of the GA and ECOSOC with Agenda 2030 and we look forward to constructively engaging the ECOSOC and HLPF review. We should all aim towards and seeking coherence and synergies. among our agendas in order to accelerate the implementation of 2030 Agenda. We should focus more on the gaps in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. We must, also, aim to increase the efficiency of our work and to maximize the use of each intergovernmental organ or forum in order to comprehensively address the complexity of the 2030 Agenda. And while we must strive to avoid redundancy, it would be a mistake, in our view, to equate duplication with repetition. The strong commitment of the PGA and ECOSOC President to this process is encouraging and you may count on our Group full support.

7. Our work on existing or new agenda items should aim to address specific mandates from the perspectives of different United Nations bodies. This approach to policy review and guidance on a case-by-case basis should enable broader policy options to pursue implementation of the Sustainable Development Agenda at the national level. In this regard, we reaffirm the intergovernmental leadership in the review exercises that are underway, as well as their role in making good use of existing mandates and in safeguarding their prerogatives.

8. We are faced with a number of crucial milestones in our work. This year is marked by the organization of several High-Level meetings, Conferences and important dialogues that are at the heart of sustainable development in its 3 dimensions. The group is committed to engaging constructively and actively in all these important events. We also need to give special attention to the implementation of the 2020 QCPR adopted during the 75th session of the General Assembly. We look forward to the start of a new round of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) to be carried out in the HLPF in July 2021. The Group would like to reiterate the need to allow sufficient time for each country’s presentation.

9. The Group wishes to stress that achieving the SDGs requires adequate and predictable financing. The socio-economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic has put more challenges on the FFD Agenda, especially for developing countries. The G77 and China calls for fine-tuning the development system approach and a stronger international cooperation, as well as a bold approach to development finance – one that significantly increases long-term public and private investments, promotes public-private partnerships, and seeks to combat illicit financial flows, while aligning private finance with the SDGs. The G77 and China looks forward to the 2021 ECOSOC FFD forum and its special session, which will discuss concrete steps towards a sustainable, inclusive and resilient recovery from the economic downturn caused by COVID-19. As highlighted in the Sustainable Development Report 2020, recent trends indicate that we are not treading in the right direction and this needs to be reversed. ODA must be increased; trade tensions resolved and investment in the SDGs mobilized.

10. We reiterate the call to the United Nations development system to continue to support developing countries in their efforts to achieve internationally agreed development goals and their development objectives, and requests the system to address the special challenges facing the most vulnerable countries and, in particular, African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, the need for special attention to countries in conflict and post-conflict situations and countries and peoples under foreign occupation, as well as the specific challenges facing the middle-income countries, in line with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development 15 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (based on para10 of QCPR2020).

11. The G-77 attaches high importance to the fifth UN conference on the LDCs. This provides an important opportunity for the international community to reinforce its support and solidarity with the LDCs, which are the most vulnerable countries in the world. The G-77 will remain fully engaged in the preparations leading to the fifth UN Conference to be held in Doha, Qatar from 23-27 July 2022. We urge our development partners, the UN system, and the international community at large to reinforce their commitment and support to make the LDC-V conference a success.

12. Finally, the Group of 77 and China remain committed to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the work of the General Assembly and of ECOSOC and stands ready to work together to “build back better” and set the stage for a recovery that is sustainable, inclusive and guided by our global road map the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We wish to assure you, Presidents, that we will continue to engage in that effort in a positive and constructive manner.

I thank you.