Distinguished Facilitator,

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

2. We would like to thank Ambassador Julio Arriola, Permanent Representative of Paraguay to the United Nations and his team, for the letter dated 21 of June 2021 and for their efforts in preparing some possible options for our consideration in order to make the Pledging
Conference more dynamic and relevant.

3. These informal dialogues cannot be timelier, as there is a need for longer-term strategic planning for generating stable, adequate and predictable resources for development activities, in order to fulfill the aspirations of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and support countries’ efforts to building back better in the aftermath of the COVID-19 during this Decade of Action.

4. We believe that the options provided in the letter, while needed of further inputs and deliberations, constitute a good initial basis to continue our considerations on this such important issue and hopefully build consensus.

Distinguished Facilitator,

5. The Group would like to seize this opportunity to make a few preliminary remarks both on the process moving forward, as well as on the substance:

6. First, on the process, we would like to reassert that it should be a member-state driven, open, transparent, and inclusive, in light of the paramount importance of the matters being discussed. We appreciate the steps given so far in this direction by the distinguished facilitator.

7. In addition to this, while the Group appreciates the preliminary timeline provided by the Facilitator in its letter on the schedule for the next consultations, the Group’s preference would be not to have any substantive meetings or negotiations during the upcoming month of August, as usually during that period many colleagues and Missions are on their vacations, and therefore any meetings during that time could undermine the inclusive nature of the process as well as prevent many delegations to engage meaningfully.

8. We have also noticed that within the parallel process on the RC review system, there are some proposals regarding the funding of the RC System, which are pending on our decisions related to the pledging conference for development activities. In this regard, while the Group is still considering this option, it would like to stress the need to maintain the necessary independence and respective mandates of each process, avoiding prejudging their respective results and not rushing our deliberations related to the Pledging conference, in order to conclude any other process.

9. Second, on the substance, the Group would like to stress some preliminary views on the options provided:

– the Group concurs that the current proposals provided are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but rather that they reinforce and complement each other.

– The Group is still considering the best timing for convening in the future the Pledging Conference. We agree that a change in the timing might contribute to enhance its impact, contribution and visibility, and therefore we are open to explore the different alternatives provided, which we will convey in a timely manner.

– We believe it could be explored, as an additional option in the text, a comprehensive approach to enhance the visibility of the contributions, as this might be important to ensure that all partners involved are properly recognized and further stimulate additional contributions.

– The Group finds relevant the option provided in order to stimulate possible contributions focused on funding for system-wide activities around collective results, whether at the global, regional, or country level, as this might complement and enlarge the existing areas of funding already covered.

– On option 3, as for the Conference to provide a substantive platform to have an issue-based structured dialogue that could delve into one or more common challenges, opportunities, or emerging funded-related issues faced by the UN development system; the Group is still considering this proposal and we further notice its possible potential and more focused impact and delivery for raising additional funding. However, we also feel that in any future deliberation on this, there should be clarity on how, where and by whom will be decided what particular issues the dialogue should be structured around, and in this regard, we stress that any decision on this should be member-state driven, open, transparent, and inclusive.

– The Group reiterates its concerns raised around the unbalance of core and non-core resources, particularly in the context of the response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, where it has been underlined the need of more flexibility on the use of funding.

– We thank for all these proposed options to improve the focus and impact of the conference, while we recognize that further discussions and more information on such proposals is needed. Therefore, the Group would like to have the opportunity to exchange views with the Secretariat and other delegations in order to gain a better perspective on their possible impact, feasibility and potential.

Distinguished Facilitator,

10. We would like to reiterate the importance that the Groups bestows to the objectives and purposes of this dialogues to explore possible alternatives for the United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities, as we are confident that it will contribute to put us all in a better track of achieving Sustainable Development in this Decade of Action.

I thank you.