TDB, Sixty-seventh Session, Third Segment

GROUP OF 77
GENEVA

STATEMENT BY THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA AT THE TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD, SIXTY-SEVENTH SESSION
THIRD SEGMENT, 28 SEPTEMBER TO 2 OCTOBER 2020, ITEM 3 - ACTIONS CARRIED OUT AND/OR PLANNED BY UNCTAD TO SUPPORT STATES IN THE RECOVERY OF THEIR TRADE AND INDUSTRIES AFTER OVERCOMING THE PANDEMIC
(Geneva, 29 September 2020)

President of the Trade and Development Board Ambassador Federico Villegas (Argentina),
Secretary-General of UNCTAD Mukhisa Kituyi,
Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD Isabelle Durant,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,

1. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China in relation to agenda item 3: Actions carried out and/or planned by UNCTAD to support States in the recovery of their trade and industries after overcoming the pandemic.

2. The Group of 77 and China would like to start by reiterating some of the elements raised during the first segment of this session, first and foremost, that the devastating effects for most developing countries have corroded the progress they had been achieving for years towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

3. Indeed, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, developing countries had been facing important development challenges, ranging from unsustainable debt levels and lack of sufficient productive capacities to unemployment and poverty, which are now exacerbated, adding to an already complicated mixture of financial instability, economic polarization, inequality, and environmental degradation that characterize the era of hyper globalization that we live in.

Mr. President,

4. The Group of 77 and China paid careful attention to the presentations of the Deputy Secretary General during the first segment and today, and further carefully reviewed the various reports that have a focus on issues related to the pandemic, including notably the World Investment Report, Trade and Development Report and numerous other publications. The Group would therefore like to express its gratitude to the UNCTAD secretariat for its swift adaptative response to the situation, materialized through the provision of relevant support in line with the changing priorities of member States.

5. The work delivered by UNCTAD confirms our earlier statement about how international trade, global value chains have been disrupted, causing shortages of basic goods and food and subsequent price hikes, increasing uncertainties and unnecessary restrictions which have worsen the situation. Yet the impact of the pandemic does not stop there. We continue to see further analysis that points to protracted negative effects of the pandemic, including though the absence of a recovery of FDI flows in 2021 and the possibility of a double-dip recession in 2022.

6. While these are concerns to all countries, some of the effects of the pandemic affect developing countries disproportionately. For instance, as most developing countries have considerable debt obligations and are faced, due to the pandemic, with massive negative impact on almost all their revenue streams. Moreover, the commodity price collapse, drastic decline in FDI and trade, unprecedented capital outflows, falling tourism revenues, falling remittances, the collapse of taxation systems, amongst others, are likely to affect developing countries the most.

7. Our Group therefore reiterates its urgent call for a swift, adequate, equal, cooperative, and non discriminating international response to the crisis, delivered in an environment of solidarity and multilateralism. Indeed, the times we live in call for acting with solidarity and joining efforts to combat effectively and efficiently Covid-19 domestically and worldwide, ensuring unhindered access of developing countries to vaccines and medicines, when produced, to put an end to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Mr. President,

8. While we will close consideration of item 3 today, we must keep this issue at the center of our work for the foreseeable future. The continued provision of timely research and analysis and resulting policy options is an important contribution of UNCTAD to enhancing the understanding of Member States of how to address the evolving situation of the pandemic and its aftermath. In particular, the Group looks forward to the launch of the UNCTAD-wide publication of the Covid-19 pandemic and calls for appropriate arrangements to be made to give due consideration to this publication, for instance through a special session of the Trade and Development Board or an equivalent arrangement.

9. To conclude, I wish to reiterate the sense of urgency of the request of the Group of 77 and China to UNCTAD, to continue to assist developing countries as the development institution it is, in avoiding further loss of human lives through the indirect impact of the pandemic of unemployment, food insecurity, extreme poverty and related consequences such as lack of access to adequate housing and sanitation, amongst others.