I have the honor to speak of on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Allow me first to express our congratulations to you on your election. We trust that your able leadership and guidance will successfully steer the work of the Second Committee in this 61st session of the General Assembly. The G77 and China also wishes to assure you and the Bureau of our support and co-operation throughout the session.

Madame Chair

The full and timely implementation of all the outcomes of all the major conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields has still to be achieved. The goals and targets of the MDG's are off track, in particular in Africa. The Doha development round talks have collapsed. The economic development gap between developing countries and developed countries is still increasing. The global imbalances in the global economic, financial and trading regimes remain. The impact of developed countries monetary policies, trade policies and in particular trade distorting subsidies, non tariff barriers on developing countries remains unresolved.

Therefore, all economic indications are that globalization has yet to deliver the poor from dehumanizing poverty and hunger. If we are to succeed in delivering the majority of the world's population from abject poverty and hunger then we must ensure that the global partnership for development is fully implemented.

Madame Chair

The Group of 77 and China attaches great importance to the three pillars of sustainable development and to the need to address them in an integrated manner, underpinned by the Rio Principle 7 of Common but Differentiated Responsibility and informed by implementing Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. To achieve the eradication of poverty we need to find ways of changing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption with developed countries taking the lead, and protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development which are overarching objectives of, and essential requirements for, sustainable development.

The international community needs to fully implement the Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity Building, by sparing no efforts in meeting the needs of developing countries to advanced and appropriate technologies, financial resources, education and training, capacity building, and promotion of human resources.

The recently held High-level Dialogue on Migration and Development rightly explored the many dimensions, opportunities and challenges of migration, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a focus on an issue that affects millions of people all over the world. The idea of a further dialogue and follow up mechanism at the international level was supported by many and we should actively pursue this issue within the United Nations so as to ensure that the positive impact of migration is enhanced and the negative impact thereof is reduced. This should be done on a principle of partnership at all levels.

Madame Chair

The United Nations is the only equitable and fully representative international organization and in the Development Follow-up Resolution (60/265) we stressed the need for the United Nations to play a fundamental role in the promotion of international cooperation for development and the coherence, coordination and implementation of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.

The development follow up resolution also emphasized the need to fully implement the global partnership for development in order to operationalize and implement the commitments made. We further stressed that all countries should promote policies consistent and coherent with the commitments made at the major United Nations conferences and summits, including those systemic in nature, we also decided to strengthen the existing mechanisms, and to consider establishing effective mechanisms to monitor, review, and follow-up to the implementation of the outcomes of all the major United Nations conferences and summits and more importantly we resolved to strengthen co-ordination within the United Nations system in close cooperation with all other multilateral financial, trade and development institutions in order to support sustained economic growth, poverty and hunger eradication and sustainable development.

The Group of 77 and China in the 61st Session remains committed to continuing to insist at every opportunity on the necessity for concrete actions by developed countries to implement all the commitments on trade, agricultural subsidies and the transfer of vitally needed resources to developing countries. The United Nations needs to display an unequivocal political will to operationalizing and implementing all commitments made to enhancing the global partnership for development that has been undertaken in writing and not just display perfunctory service to the implementation of an equitable and balanced financial, economic and social global order.

This is essential if the United Nations is to fulfill its mandate of achieving an equitable, integrated, coordinated and comprehensive approach to the global partnership for development to create a better life for all those millions of people who so desperately need to be lifted out of dehumanizing and degrading poverty and hunger.

Therefore, if 2005 is to be remembered for its commitments to development then 2006 must be about full and timely implementation of the global partnership for development. Now is the time Madame Chair for the international community to translate their commitments into concrete actions and reality.

I thank you