Distinguished co-facilitators of the Summit of the Future,
Excellencies,

We have the honor of deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

The Group highly appreciates the effort that has been made by you Amb. Neville Gertze of the Republic of Namibia, and Amb. Antje Leendertse of the Federal Republic of Germany, and your staff, as we concluded the second reading of the Pact for the Future regardless of the enormous complexity and scale of the task at hand.

We are committed to achieving consensus on an ambitious, concise and action-oriented Pact for the Future to make our multilateral system better fit for purpose, in particular to strengthen the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs by focusing on areas of convergence in the upcoming negotiations, while addressing the commitment of developed countries to provide adequate means of implementation, and respecting core principles especially the CBDR, and the right to development.

In doing so, we greatly welcome the organization of this Ambassador-level meeting and look forward to having it on a regular basis as it enables us to review the negotiation progress and navigate the way forward better. Distinguished co-facilitators.

As we are about to enter a new round of exchanges, we would like to reflect on the reason why this process is so relevant. As the name of the Pact reads, this is a document to secure a better future. We need this so emphatically since our own species risks being endangered.

Unfortunately, those who are exposed the most are the peoples of the Global South. It is in our countries where poverty is the cruelest, it is in our countries where hunger and preventable diseases hit communities most gravely, and it is us who are suffering from anachronisms that impede the rise of our nations.

The Pact needs to set the path to revert this unfair reality. It needs to respond to the expectations of the largest share of the world´s population. This process needs to be guided by the voices of those who represent the most vulnerable ones. If not, the credibility of the Summit could be jeopardized. Distinguished co-facilitators.

Regarding the principles, the G77 believes that highly ambitious and actionable deliverables in every Chapter can provide a good starting point for achieving significant breakthroughs in the implementation of the SDGs. We recall the vision of the Secretary General calling the Summit of the Future to turbocharge the SDGs. We hope that this can be the approach and not deviating from the 2030 Agenda.

Additionally, trust must be restored and upheld for the Pact to gather the necessary buy-in from member states and the public. Rebuilding trust requires concrete actions in areas such as climate change, debt relief for developing countries, technology, and knowledge transfer, and in capacity building. This is an aspect which you dear co-facilitators have indeed taken note of.

The principle of upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and honoring of previously agreed commitments, in addition to strengthening the pact to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs, is also important as it reinforces implementation mechanisms.

In upholding those principles, we believe that the co-facilitators shall become the co-penholders in providing us with the revised version of the zero-draft based on our discussion in the previous readings and from our written inputs. Distinguished co-facilitators.

Allow us to highlight a few key issues that the Group believes must be addressed in the Rev 1:

On substance, the Pact should be based on foundational documents, including the 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Political Declaration of the 2023 SDG Summit. These should be reflected in all relevant Chapters. On sustainable development, it must take a balanced approach to all three dimensions of sustainable development.

The Pact should not erode existing commitments, agreements, and principles such as CBDR, and should also not erode established processes or mechanisms like the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF).

The Pact should have actionable proposals to accelerate implementation of existing commitments particularly those undertaken at the SDG Summit mainly those on financing, technology transfer and capacity building. In this context, the G77 hopes to see our actionable proposals put forward in the zero draft to bridge the SDG Financing Gap and for the reform of the IFIs reflected in the Rev-1.

The Group reaffirms its view regarding eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty as the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

The Group also renews its view that an improved global sovereign debt architecture with the meaningful participation of developing countries, allowing for fair, balanced, and development-oriented treatment is urgently needed.

It is equally important to close the digital divide between developed and developing countries, including by increasing connectivity and access to technologies, tackling the infrastructure divide, developing digital skills and literacy, and guaranteeing technology and knowledge transfer.

In this regard, we trust you will be able to produce a new document that is concise, but captures enough details on the key proposals, so that it remains meaningful.

Finally Distinguished Co-facilitators,

We reiterate that international development cooperation, especially North-South cooperation, remains a fundamental catalyst to sustainable development. As North-South cooperation is the main channel of development financing, the international community must uphold the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" (CBDR) and reinvigorate North-South cooperation to continue to play its key role.

As we review the Pact of the Future and discuss how to move it forward, let us remember the overarching importance of solidarity, ambition, and action. This historic initiative must serve as a catalyst for the transformative change needed to achieve the SDGs and build a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous world for all our people, especially the most vulnerable.

The G77 and China confirms its commitment to actively engaging in this very important intergovernmental through focusing on key priorities, calling for and exercising compromise and through flexibility, and considering aspects where the General Assembly is united and where consensus emerges.

This summit should be an opportunity for regaining trust and advancing the role of the UN. It should not be a summit to impose a fait accompli or attempt to change the previously made agreements the General Assembly made, particularly those of importance to developing countries. We look forward to reaching a concise, action-oriented outcome agreed by consensus through intergovernmental negotiations that respect the rules of procedure and the intergovernmental decision making in the United Nations.

Thank you.