Madam Chair,
Excellencies
Distinguished Delegates

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of G77 and China.

Allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate you and other members of the Bureau for their election.

Madam Chair,

The world we live in is mired in multidimensional challenges – of recovering from the Covid-19 Pandemic, of financing the SDGs, of fighting poverty and hunger, and of combating climate change and environmental degradation.

The recent geopolitical tensions and debilitating effects of climate change-which are being felt strongly by my own country in the wake of the recent unprecedented floods-have heightened vulnerabilities of countries and people around the globe.

High inflation, growing food insecurity, unsustainable debt burden, disruption in supply chains, currency fluctuations, high borrowing costs, and unilateral coercive measures that are not in accordance with international law and Charter of the United Nations are examples of various issues faced by the developing world today.

Regrettably these cascading crises have compelled many governments in developing countries to make hard choices of choosing between investing in people, saving their lives or repaying their debt and cutting down on development budgets.

Madam Chair,

Today, we are suffering from the crisis of liquidity and pandemic of inequality.

Extreme poverty is on the rise; the number of undernourished and hungry has grown. The rich are getting richer, and the poor become poorer.

Global wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few – 26 richest people own half the world’s wealth.

As the Secretary General has said, the international financial architecture is “morally bankrupt” and requires “deep structural reform”.

Madam Chair,

In order to address current challenges and promote structural reforms, the Group proposes the following:

First, we need to immediately expand concessional financing by the MDBs and the regional development banks, reduce borrowing cost for developing countries, and allocate 500bn new SDRs, either through general allocation or rechannelling for the existing unutilized ones.

In this regard, we welcome the proposal of the Secretary-General for a “SDG stimulus” to enable those countries which are in extreme economic distress to revive their economies and development objectives.

We also welcome the Secretary General’s proposal to consider measures beyond the GDP for access to concessional finance. The revised criteria must supplement existing measures and include social, economic, and environmental dimensions in a balanced manner.

Second, we must urgently mobilize at least $1 trillion annually for investment in sustainable infrastructure (inter alia energy, transport, housing, industry, agriculture, trade facilitation) for developing countries to boost the achievement of the SDGs in the remaining decade of action.

The UN system must also support developing countries in building a pipeline of bankable projects.

Public and private resources must be mobilized especially by “de-risking” investments through blended finance, guarantees, and SDG/Green Bonds etc.

We could also consider setting up a UN Policy Board and encourage the UN Country Offices to promote sustainable infrastructure investment.

Third, the developed countries must fulfil the pledge of $100bn annually towards climate finance and to at least double climate finance towards adaptation.

The climate negotiations must adhere to the founding principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in particular the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

CoP27 provides excellent opportunity to move forward in our collective efforts and implement climate commitments by the developed countries, especially on financing and support, and to establish an independent financing facility for climate related “loss and damage”.

Fourth, we need to ensure preferential trade access for developing countries and promote export led growth as an effective way to achieve the SDGs. They should be offered policy space for industrialization, for example through flexibilities in the TRIPS and TRIMS Agreements. Unilateral and WTO inconsistent trade restrictions as well as other trade distortive measures detrimental to developing countries, including in agricultural trade, should be preferably eliminated;

Fifth, a fair tax regime is essential and must be inclusively developed through intergovernmental process. We reiterate the need to fully upgrade the Committee of Experts in Tax Matters to an intergovernmental body with experts representing their respective governments.

Sixth, developing countries should be given their due share in all economic decision-making bodies. The IMF quota system, based on contributions, should take into account development needs of the developing countries.

Seventh, the current digital divide is bound to broaden the current development divide. Digital technologies should rather help bridge the development gap. Developing countries should be given preferential access to modern and digital technologies and participate in all decision making. Furthermore, digital cooperation remains essential to all developing countries.

Technologies aligned with the SDGs should be transferred or made readily available to the developing countries.

Madam Chair,

I am confident that our discussions in the second committee under your able leadership would find the solution of these systemic problems.

As Chair of the G77 and China, I assure you of my full support in facilitating and coordinating the discussion throughout the work of the Committee.

I thank you.