Mr. Chairman, (H.E. Ambassador Hamid BAEIDI NEJAD)
Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Colleagues,

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

First of all, I wish to congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, on assuming the chairmanship of this 54th session of the Working Party on the Strategic Framework and the Programme Budget. Today’s meeting provides us an opportunity to discuss the draft proposed UNCTAD Biennial Programme Plan for the period 2012-2013, with a view to providing timely inputs to feed into the budget process in New York.

We wish to thank the Secretariat for preparing and revising the draft proposed biennial programme plan to reflect the preliminary comments made by member States at the briefing session on this document held two weeks ago.

Mr. Chairman,

As the focal point of the United Nations for the integrated treatment of trade and development, as well as the interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development, UNCTAD has continued to make a substantial contribution towards advancing the Development Agenda. We are pleased to see that UNCTAD is generally recognized for its effective role in supporting developing countries to address emerging challenges and to maximize the benefits from the globalized economy.

In particular, given the severe repercussions of the global economic crisis, the work of UNCTAD has become ever more relevant to the members of our Group, especially the least developed countries. The global economic downturn has seriously undermined the development goals of the developing countries, setting back the progress that has been made over the years and jeopardizing the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. At present, too many countries remain vulnerable to the scourge of poverty and the threat of hunger.

Mr. Chairman,

The UNCTAD Biennial Programme Plan for the period 2012-2013 is of much significance to us since it is the basis for UNCTAD to carry out its mandated work over the next two years. Allow me to underline some key points which deserve our attention during the deliberation of this session.

First, the Group is of the view that the proposed biennial programme plan adequately reflects the overall mandates entrusted by member States to UNCTAD in line with the Accra Accord and relevant UN resolutions. It also captures the needs and priorities of developing countries. However, it will be incumbent upon UNCTAD to further translate these goals and objectives into concrete actions in terms of coordinated work plans and resources allocation. Given the context of the current global economic downturn and the numerous challenges for development, we wish to stress the need to expand UNCTAD’s work and resources to better reflect the organization’s relevance to developing countries. This is particularly important in light of the common messages resonated at the General Assembly regarding the need to strengthen the UN’s development pillar, including UNCTAD.

Secondly, we wish to emphasize that UNCTAD’s work must continue to take into account the specific needs and interests of the developing countries. Development strategies must not be one-size-fits-all, but need to be consistent with the particularities of the different regions from the developing world. In so doing, the draft biennial programme plan should be broad and flexible enough to address the challenges emerging from the global economic landscape, both at present and over the next two years.

Thirdly, we wish to underscore the tasks mandated to UNCTAD that are of particular interest to developing countries, such as enhanced regional integration, South-South cooperation, sustainable trade and development, and the promotion of inclusive growth. Such tasks will help countries attain and sustain the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. We therefore believe that predictability of resources and ensuring continuity and sustainability of capacity building activities are of paramount importance to UNCTAD’s contribution and effectiveness.

In particular, we would like to urge the newly established Unit for Economic Cooperation and Integration among Developing Countries and the Special Unit on Commodities, both of which are under the direct guidance of the UNCTAD Secretary-General, to promptly and effectively address the mandates to which each unit has been entrusted. In this regard, the G77 and China looks forward to working with the secretariat to develop a relevant work programme for both units.

Lastly, we believe that the performance indicators which were developed with considerable effort in consultation with member States remain useful tools for evaluating UNCTAD’s work and effectiveness. In our view, a great amount of time has already been spent in revisiting the indicators. We believe that such time could have been better devoted to substantive discussions on priority issues that have a direct impact on developing countries.

Apart from these issues, Mr. Chairman, our specific comments will be elaborated during the deliberations.

Mr. Chairman,

In closing, the Group of 77 and China looks forward to working with you to ensure the successful conclusions of the meeting. We are confident that under your able guidance, the outcome of our meeting will provide further impetus to UNCTAD’s agenda and its intermediate-term work plans.

Thank you.