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STATEMENT BY
H.E. SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN AHMED BIN JASSIM AL-THANI, MINISTER OF ECONOMY
AND COMMERCE OF THE STATE OF QATAR, CHAIRMAN OF THE SPECIAL MINISTERIAL
MEETING OF THE GROUP OF 77, |
Mr. Chairman, I feel privileged to present to your Committee the Ministerial Declaration adopted on the occasion of the 40 th Anniversary of the Group of 77. The Group of 77 and China considered that meeting in Sao Paulo, on the eve of UNCTAD XI, was a historical recognition of the close links between the Group and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Indeed, the establishment of the Group at first session of UNCTAD was a milestone in the collective action of developing countries on major international economic issues, in the configuration of the North-South dialogue and in the active promotion of the international development agenda. The foundations laid down in 1964 continue to be valid today. Allow me, Mr. Chairman, to provide this Committee with a flavor of the Ministerial Declaration by focusing on a number of broad issues that are of relevance to your work. 1. The expectations for global security and a just and nondiscriminatory international economic and social order have not been realized. The world today is beset by acute economic and social problems, many of them structural in nature. International economic relations continue to be marked by uncertainty, imbalances and continued marginalization of developing countries, in particular the least developed. 2. The process of globalisation and liberalization has produced uneven benefits among countries. The international disciplines and obligations are also increasingly encompassing rules that frame development policy choices of developing countries. These developments underscore the importance of ensuring policy space for developing countries. This also calls for the "governance of globalisation" which places development at the very centre of global concerns, including with respect to corporate social responsibility. There is a need to integrate the development dimension into international economic processes and rule making. 3. Developing countries must be assisted to effectively participate in and respond to the challenges arising from international trade and multilateral trade negotiations and to derive benefits therefrom. The Group is concerned that the on-going negotiations have not so far met the expectations of developing countries. Developed countries are invited to demonstrate the required political will to fulfill the commitments that they undertook in Doha. Thus, the important objective of the Doha Declaration, which has placed the needs and interest of developing countries at the heart of the Doha Work Programme, must be vigorously and continuously pursued on the whole range of issues of particular concern to developing countries. 4. We remain committed to the Millennium Development Goals and the other internationally agreed development goals. We call upon the international community and the United Nations system to fully and speedily assist us in achieving these goals. The Group of 77 is determined to work actively for the success of the high-level plenary meeting to be held at the commencement of the 60 th United Nations General Assembly, in 2005, with the participation of the Heads of State and Government to review progress made in the fulfillment of all these commitments. If the Millennium Development Goals are to be achieved by 2015, there is an urgent need to ensure a genuine Global Partnership for Development, which requires both increased commitment and implementation on the part of developed countries. 5. We reiterate our willingness to actively participate in the negotiations for the strengthening of the Organization, in order that it efficiently responds to the current and future challenges including the requirements, concerns and interests of developing countries. We reaffirm that such negotiations should be aimed at strengthening multilateralism, endowing United Nations with a substantive capacity to fully and effectively meet the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter, and to consolidate its democratic character and its transparency in the discussion, and implementation of decisions of Member States 6. The forthcoming Second South Summit in 2005 will be the occasion to assess the implementation of the Havana Programme of Action and the Marrakech Framework for the Implementation of South-South Cooperation, which undertook to pursue a sharply focused action-oriented agenda, geared to implementing a number of high priority initiatives within specified timeframes. Convinced of the importance of enhancing South-South trade, the Group welcomes the decision to revive the Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries (GSTP) and to launch the third round of negotiations aimed at integrating and furthering the objectives of the GSTP agreement. 7. UNCTAD is pre-eminently placed to respond to the existing and emerging challenges facing developing countries. The mandate and functions of UNCTAD gives the institution a special role in the overall configuration of multilateral institutions. We welcome the recent decisions of the General Assembly to request UNCTAD to contribute to the implementation of the outcomes of major conferences, to the review the progress in the implementation of the commitments made and the agreements reached, and to include UNCTAD in the high-level dialogue of ECOSOC with the Bretton Woods Institutions and the WTO. UNCTAD XI is another milestone both in the life of the UNCTAD and that of the Group of 77, which continue to benefit from the multi-disciplinary activities of the organization. The international community should therefore support UNCTAD in all its areas of work. I would like to take this opportunity to place on record once more the Group of 77 and China's appreciation and gratitude to Brazil and its people for the excellent organization and hosting of the Special Ministerial Meeting on the occasion of the 40 th anniversary of the Group of 77 and the warm hospitality, which were bestowed on us in the city of São Paulo. Mr. Chairman, In thanking you and the Committee for the opportunity to introduce the Ministerial Declaration, I would like to ask that the document be circulated as an official document of UNCTAD XI. |