Madam President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

I wish to thank you and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation for the video presentation on South-South Trust Funds.

Allow me to make a few remarks about the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund for South-South Cooperation, the PGTF.

The PGTF was established in 1983 at the initiative of the Group of 77 through a General Assembly resolution.

The Group of 77 approves at its Annual Ministerial Meetings the projects to be supported, based on proposals appraised and ranked by a Committee of Experts acting in their personal capacities and coming from the three regions of the Group. The UN Office of South-South Cooperation, with UNDP support, provides technical support for the management of PGTF projects and resources at headquarters and in the field through the network of UNDP country offices in G-77 member states.

Launched in 1986 with a core capital of 5 million US dollars, in 34 years of operations it has proved to be a valuable instrument for providing catalytic financial support to South-South cooperation. Resources to support projects stem from the interest earnings of the core capital as well as contributions from member countries of the Group of 77.

Focused on supporting small-scale projects involving three or more developing countries, its impact has been significant.

A few figures might illustrate this point:

– PGTF has supported 361 projects, 259 of them have already been successfully completed and the results have been shared with all the member countries of the G-77;

– Total allocation of funds amounts to 15.5 million US dollars, more than three times the initial core capital, which has been increased to 7 million through contributions by member countries;

– 134 member countries have been direct participants in PGTF-supported projects carried out by many organizations of the South.

– PGTF-supported have addressed many priority areas, namely food and agriculture, technical cooperation, trade, technology, energy, health, raw materials, industrialization, finance, and environment-related issues.

We also welcome developing countries led special fund arrangements such as the India-UN Development Partnership Fund and the India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation.

In conclusion, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, I wish to thank the UN Office for South-South Cooperation for hosting the PGTF and other special funds led by Global South on behalf of UNDP. The South-South Trust Funds are important instruments that demand increased support from all of us.

Thank you.