GROUP OF 77
GENEVA

STATEMENT BY AFGHANISTAN ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA AT THE 12TH SESSION OF THE TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION ON ITEM 3A (IV) - MULTI-YEAR EXPERT MEETING ON TRANSPORT, TRADE LOGISTICS AND TRADE FACILITATION
(Geneva, 17 February 2021)

Chair of the twelfth Session of the Trade and Development Commission, Ambassador Chad Blackman of Barbados,
Director Shamika Sirimanne of the Division on Technology and Logistics,
Officer-in-Charge of the Division on International Trade and Commodities,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Mr. Chair,

1. The Group of 77 and China would like to thank the Chair and Vice-Chair of the most recent edition of the Multi-Year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation, for having conducted a successful meeting, as well as to thank the Secretariat for the substantive and logistical support for this meeting.

2. Indeed, all the Expert Meetings that took place after March 2020 took into account in some form or another the shifting world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, perhaps the area covered by this Expert Meeting is one of those that is undergoing some of the most pressure to adapt as a result of the pandemic, which comes in addition to important climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts that were already under way.

3. Maritime transport is the lifeline of the trade and global economy, the veins that carry the blood that keeps the system alive and interconnected. The need to keep trade flowing is particularly dependent on keeping maritime transport flowing. Yet maritime transport is very vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which leads to the pressing need for important adaptation efforts that put important strain on the industry. At the same time, we must also recognize the need to ensure that the sector fulfils its responsibility of climate change mitigation and moves ahead with decarbonization. All this while ensuring that we move ahead with trade facilitation reforms and efforts. The intertwining of all these priorities poses perhaps one of the most important dilemmas of how to reconcile prosperity and sustainability.

4. This is why the array of new legislation, incentive schemes, new technologies, and a multitude of related challenges, make for a fast-paced environment in which developing countries can struggle to navigate, let alone to prevail. The Multi-Year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation therefore provides an important platform that complements the work of the Trade Logistics Branch of UNCTAD and the ASYCUDA Programme, in providing current perspectives and experience-sharing to help us make sense of the state-of-play.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.