STATEMENT DELIVERED BY MR. OSITADINMA ANAEDU, DELEGATION OF NIGERIA, ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77, ON AGENDA ITEM 94: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION, IN THE SECOND COMMITTEE OF THE 55TH UNGA

New York, 12 October 2000

Mr. Chairman,

On behalf of the Group of 77 and China, I wish to speak on agenda item 94 on Sustainable Development and International Economic Cooperation. The Group commends the reports of the Secretary-General, which provide incisive and detailed analysis on all the sub-items under this agenda item.

Mr. Chairman,

The prospects of peace in the aftermath of cold war, offered humanity tremendous opportunities to invest in the process that would lead to the transformation of the human condition, as against excessive military build-up of the past, as a form of peace dividend. The thrust and shape of the Fourth United Nations Development Decade sought to reverse the adverse trends of the previous decades. That development strategy principally aimed to provide an international environment that would ensure accelerated economic growth and social development of developing countries, as a foundation for strengthening international cooperation. The extent to which these goals were accomplished will determine the focus of the international development strategy for the first decade of the new Millennium.

The Group of 77 acknowledges that some measure of progress has been achieved. The level of economic growth and general well being of the people has improved. There has been increasing public and private investment necessary to expand the manufacturing and service sectors in developing countries. Special attention has been paid to education and health sectors, leading to higher level of educational enrollment and better primary health care. The mainstreaming of gender perspective in policy goals and development has taken roots. The international environment has created enabling condition in pursuits of systems of justice and political systems based on democracy and popular participation, as well as respect for economic, social and other human rights.

Humanity, however, is increasingly faced with extreme poverty, in which 1.2 billion people, majority from the developing countries, are living under inhuman condition and chronically undernourished, at a period of unprecedented expansion of trade, production and generation of income and national wealth. This has been compounded by crushing external debt burden, unstable financial market, declining flow of financial resources for development, including official development assistance (ODA), private portfolio and foreign direct investment. Few developing countries, given this condition, can reduce poverty or achieve goals and objectives of the present strategy. That would demand a higher economic growth; a situation that certainly appears impossible to attain, with the lack of capacity and resources by developing countries to take advantage of the profound benefits of globalization and tremendous opportunities offered by new technologies, including information and communication technologies and biotechnology.

Against this background, the development strategy for the coming decade of the New Millennium must address the issue of supportive external economic environment to developing countries. This strategy should focus on tackling the central problem of inadequate financial resources, at both domestic and external levels, as a priority condition for economic growth and social development. It should significantly improve the flow of finance for development, including fulfilling the commitments made by developed countries in all UN conferences and summits. Developed countries should fulfill the agreed target of Official Development Assistance (ODA). There must be decisive action to cancel outright the debts of developing countries. The new strategy should create the condition for open and fair international trading system and bring to conclusion the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, that is balanced, providing market access to products of interests for developing countries.

Overall, we must agree that without adequate resources, it would be impossible for developing countries to address the crisis situation of HIV/AIDS pandemics, problems of environmental degradation and issues of socio-economic development. Much as we agree on the need for mobilization of domestic resources as part of any development strategy, we must recognize that the lack of external financing remains central to the ability of developing countries to face old and new challenges. The design of a new strategy for the new decade of the Millennium will benefit from the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries and the High-level International Intergovernmental Event on Financing for Development to be held in 2001.

Mr. Chairman,

The Group of 77 supports the integration of the countries with economies in transition into the world economy. We appreciate various activities of the bodies and agencies of the United Nations system to provide policy advice and technical assistance to economies in transition in each main programme area. It, however, needs to be emphasized that the attention being paid to economies in transition should under no circumstances displace or undercut the development programmes meant for developing countries, particularly Africa and the Least Developed Countries, many of which have also embarked upon fundamental reforms aimed at transforming their economies and societies.

Mr. Chairman,

For us in developing countries, culture has the potential of energizing collective creativity and developing awareness and enterprise that will engender economic growth and social development in an increasingly globalized world. Our Group commends the various initiatives by the World Bank in supporting projects on cultural programmes as well as the activities of the regional financial institutions in that regard. Our Group also supports the proposals by UNESCO to promote public policies that recognize the central role of culture in development, including the creation of income generation activities, through the mobilization and the sharing of information and knowledge. We urge the implementation of the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development, held in Stockholm in March/April 1998. The integration of cultural perspective into the next international development strategy will ensure a holistic approach in addressing all issues and challenges facing developing countries from all dimensions.

Mr. Chairman,

The Group of 77 supports the convening of a two-day high level dialogue, that will focus attention on integration of developing countries into the world economy as well as the emerging global information network to be held two days, immediately before the commencement of the general debate at the 56th Session of the General Assembly. We welcome the involvement of several entities of the United Nations system and the international financial institutions, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Global Environment Facility. As much as possible, the themes of the High-level dialogue should particularize on mechanisms to effect social integration, including capacity building, development of technical knowledge and transfer of technologies, as well as financial resource mobilization to assist developing countries to achieve these targets.

Mr. Chairman,

The Group of 77 is committed to the success of the five-year review of Habitat Agenda to be held in June 2001. The review presents us an opportunity to examine some policies and programmes as well as problems that have constrained sustainable development of human settlements. The review should focus on implementation of the Habitat Agenda, and not its revision. We urge that all efforts should be made to encourage full participation of the developing countries in the preparatory process in February 2001 and the main conference review itself. To carry out its work effectively, there is need to strengthen and make more efficient, the United Nations Center for Human Settlements (Habitat) as the multilateral body with a mandate to coordinate activities of this review.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, the strategy of achieving these goals, depends largely on the policy actions and initiatives of this Committee, in agreeing to make issues of development as the main foundation agenda for the first decade of the new session.

I thank you.