Ministerial Statement of the Twenty-ninth Annual Ministerial Meeting of the G-77

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

1. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 and China met in New York on 22 September 2005 for the Twenty-Ninth Annual Meeting of Ministers, chaired by the Honourable K. D. Knight, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, in his capacity as Chairman of the Group of 77.

2.The Ministers recalled the successful convening of the Second South Summit of the Group of 77 and China, held from 12 to 16 June 2005, in Doha, Qatar. They expressed their appreciation to the Government of Qatar for hosting the Summit and reaffirmed their commitment to work towards the full implementation of the Doha Declaration and the Doha Plan of Action, in particular the strengthening of South-South Cooperation, including through regional and interregional cooperation and called upon the international community, including the international financial institutions, to support the efforts of developing countries, inter alia, through triangular cooperation.

3. The Ministers noted that arrangements for the establishment of the South Fund for Development and Humanitarian Assistance were being drafted by a national committee appointed by the State of Qatar and that a Report would be submitted to the Chairman of the Group no later than January 2006.

4. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the Panel of Experts to elaborate a Development Platform for the South in Kingston, Jamaica, from 29 to 30 August 2005, as mandated by the Second South Summit. They took note of the progress report (Doc. G-77/AM(XVII)/2005/8) by the Chairman of the Group of 77 on the preparation of the Platform and agreed that the Chairman should continue his efforts in consultation with the South Centre and other relevant institutions on arrangements for completing the Platform.

5. The Ministers reviewed developments in the international economic environment and activities undertaken in the context of the development agenda of the United Nations, in particular the 2005 World Summit Outcome and the Meeting on Financing for Development held during the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on 14 September 2005. They reaffirmed their commitment to the MDGs and the other internationally agreed development goals, while reiterating the call for development partners to fulfil their obligations, especially in the context of the global partnership for development.

6. The Ministers noted that while the development cluster of the 2005 World Summit Outcome fell short of the expectations of the G-77 and China, there were positive elements which could be used as a platform for actively promoting the implementation of commitments made in previous UN summits and conferences and decided that special efforts would be made during the current session of the General Assembly towards advancing these objectives. They drew particular attention to the decision of some donor countries to establish timetables for the attainment of the 0.7 per cent target of GNP for ODA and the emphasis placed on the need for a timely, effective, comprehensive and durable solution to the debt problems of developing countries. They expressed regret that there was not a more expansive treatment of trade issues and also expressed concern about the inadequate treatment of systemic inequities in international economic relations, in particular the slow progress in enhancing the voice and participation of developing countries in the Bretton Woods Institutions, which operate to the detriment of developing countries. The Ministers also drew attention to the importance of ensuring the full implementation of recommendationssuch as those for research and development in science and technology and in strengthening health systems in developing countries.

7. The Ministers stressed the importance in the reform of the United Nations for a strong and empowered Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to promote implementation of the development agenda and promote international economic cooperation.

8.The Ministers emphasized the importance of sending a strong political message to the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong later this year for special attention to be paid to the development dimension of trade in all areas of the negotiations.

9. The Ministers reiterated the significance of increased financing for development, including the need to meet the long-standing target of 0.7 per cent of GNP for ODA to developing countries, wider and deeper debt relief to developing countries, as well as ongoing efforts aimed at identifying additional, innovative sources of financing. In this regard, they welcomed the offer of the State of Qatar to host the follow-up Conference to the International Conference on Financing for Development in 2007.

10. The Ministers welcomed the progress report by the Chairman of the Group of 77 on the G-77 Chamber of Commerce and Industry (G-77 CCI), contained in document G-77/AM(XVII)/2005/6 /REV.1 and approved its recommendations. The Ministers agreed that the outcome of the process would be submitted by the Chairman of the Group of 77 to the Annual Ministerial Meeting of the Group in September 2006 for consideration and appropriate action.

11. The Ministers approved the Report of the Twentieth Meeting of the Committee of Experts of the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund for ECDC/TCDC (Doc.G-77/AM(XVII/2005/2), which was presented in accordance with the guidelines for the utilisation of the PGTF and endorsed its recommendations. The Ministers commended the Chairman of the Committee of Experts for his continued commitment and expressed their satisfaction with the results achieved by the PGTF and invited member states to participate in the UN Pledging Conference to be held in New York on 11 November 2005.

12. The Ministers approved the Financial Statement of the ECDC Account of the Group of 77 (Doc.G-77/AM(XVII)/2005/3) for 1 January – 31 August 2005, as presented by the Chairman of the Group of 77 and urged those member states that have not yet done so to make special efforts to pay their outstanding contributions.

13. The Ministers welcomed the election of the Republic of South Africa to the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 in 2006.

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