Mr. Chair,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentelemen,

1. I have the honour to deliver these remarks on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. I would also like to express my appreciation to you and the Group of 24 for the opportunity to address this important gathering at such a crucial time.

2. We welcome the theme of the ministerial meeting, namely “Securing a Better Recovery Amidst Uncertainty from COVID-19”. Let me take this opportunity to share with you some of our thoughts and views on this critical issue.

3. The international community is facing an unprecedented global crisis, and therefore it is of utmost importance for the international financial institutions to send a strong signal of their commitment to the sustainable development goals in this decade of action. The developing countries are confronted by both a public health pandemic and an unfolding economic emergency, which have crushed the development gains achieved over the past few decades.

4. The pandemic of COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc in the world despite the manufacture of vaccines that gives us hope but whose availability remains inaccessible to a significant number of countries. It has compounded existing challenges to development, exacerbated inequalities and vulnerabilities and negatively impacted the abilities of Governments to achieve the 2030 Agenda for development as we enter the decade of action.

5. We note with concern that the pandemic further exacerbated existing impediments and undermined many development gains, such as impacts on global financial and economic crises, continuing lack of resources and underdevelopment of the majority of the developing world, continuing unequal terms of trade and insufficiency of cooperation from developed countries, in the way towards a just and equitable world order.

6. The development of vaccines has given the world new hope but has also made the alarming effects of global inequality as clear as ever. The Group of 77has highlighted that access to vaccines is of critical importance not only in overcoming the pandemic and recovering momentum for sustainable development, but also in adequately responding to all types of humanitarian emergencies.

7. We stress the importance of ensuring global and equitable access to safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines at affordable prices, and recognize that they should be made global public goods to help overcome the pandemic worldwide and achieve development goals.

8. While we appreciated the response and the special measures initiated by the UN system, the IMF, the World Bank Group and donor partners to assist developing countries in responding to the pandemic, there is need for greater coordination of both public health measures and fiscal and monetary policy responses at the global level.

9. For their part, the international financial institutions should work with the international community to take coordinated and effective measures to maintain the stability of global financial markets and supply chains, including by cutting tariffs and removing trade barriers, particularly for pharmaceuticals and health supplies, in order to facilitate the unfettered flow of trade and promote global economic recovery. They should also use all the instruments available to them and exercise greater flexibility in accelerating their support to developing countries, including through debt relief, increased liquidity, and broader lending and technical assistance options.

10. Another important challenge is to ensure that the current focus on mitigating the impact of the pandemic should not divert attention and resources away from the long-term development needs of developing countries as set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Rather, the international response should be a holistic one that fully integrates the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental -, including the Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda and the modalities for achieving them.

11. The international community, developed and developing countries alike, must demonstrate that we are capable of working together in solidarity to contain the pandemic and mitigate its impacts and to build a community with a shared future for humankind. The international financial institutions have a critical role to play in that effort.

12. In conclusion, we reiterate our full support and cooperation with the G-24 to achieve our common goals.

Thank you.