Your Excellency, President of the General Assembly Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,

I have the honor to deliver this explanation of position on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. At the outset, I would like to express deep appreciation to the Conference Preparatory Committee bureau members led by the distinguished Co-Chairs, the Permanent Representatives of Mongolia and Austria for their valued contributions and stewardship of this process. Additionally, we extend our gratitude to the delegation of Botswana for negotiating the Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2024-2034 just adopted by the General Assembly on behalf of G77 and China.

Excellencies,

With the adoption of this tailored programme of action for the LLDCs, who constitute 32 members of this August Body that face unique development challenges due to their landlockedness, urgent action is needed to address their development challenges. Even though this programme of action goes beyond the 2030 Agenda we must begin action today to ensure that the LLDCs are not left behind and that this new programme of action will provide the guidance in this regard.

LLDCs' remoteness and isolation from the world market, additional border crossings, long transit procedures, insufficient logistical systems and poor infrastructure cause them to incur substantially higher transport and other trade transactions when compared to other countries. Thus, this presents a tremendous trade-reducing effect that has a direct negative impact on economic growth and undermines their national efforts to achieve sustainable development and national development goals. The UN General Assembly during its 28th Session recognized these specific challenges and adopted a resolution on special measures related to the particular needs of landlocked developing countries, and today we reaffirm this with the adoption of this resolution.

Excellencies,

The G77 and China fully supports the adoption of this bold Programme of Action that provides the LLDCs with the necessary tools to address their development challenges, in particular those of remoteness, limited productive capacities and connectivity, inadequate funding, high debt, commodity price volatility as well as emerging challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss and disasters. We firmly believe that through renewed and strengthened partnerships at bilateral and international levels that the LLDCs would be able to adequately address their unique development constraints and also support accelerating the implementation of internationally agreed goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Group emphasizes that building the productive capacities of landlocked developing countries, promoting value addition and export diversification and moving up global value chains are vital to increasing their trade potential. It is also necessary to promote an intensified industrialization and a greater utilization of science, technology and innovation.

The G77 and China calls for the fulfillment of all previous commitments made to support the LLDCs to address their development challenges, and we urge new and more scaled up support to them. We emphasize that developed countries have the obligation and commitment of assisting developing countries in meeting their development objectives and urge developed countries to fulfil all previous and new commitments.

We also thank the countries of the South for their continued support and solidarity to the LLDCs in pursuit of their national development aspirations, within the framework of South-South Cooperation. In this regard, we applaud the General Assembly for adopting this resolution by consensus as a critical first step to the implementation of this resolution.

Excellencies,

Finally, the G77 and China reiterates its unwavering solidarity with the LLDCs and remains committed to support the Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries.

I thank you.