Distinguished co-facilitators,
Excellencies,
Colleagues,

I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the G 77 and China.

We thank you for convening this informal consultation to address the elements that should be reflected in Chapter 3 entitled "Science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation".

The Group reiterates the importance of having a Chapter dedicated to science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation and welcomes its incorporation in the scope of the Pact of the Future. Nonetheless, we would like to emphasize that the text included in Rev. 3 of the draft decision on the scope, does not constitute a good basis for the zero draft in regard to Chapter 3. As we have indicated in the letter we sent to the co-facilitators on 17 August, the excessive and negative caveating of technology transfer language in a manner that goes beyond the 2030 Agenda is unacceptable for the G77 and China.

The Group will be submitting written inputs on science, technology and innovation and would like to highlight a few elements we consider should be included in this Chapter.

Chapter 3 should stress the important role of science, technology and innovation as pillars, enablers and catalysts to support sustained, inclusive and sustainable growth, accelerating the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, as well as achieving other internationally agreed development goals.

This Chapter must provide concrete solutions for the promotion of technology transfer from developed countries to developing countries, as well as for capacity building and technological and scientific cooperation to close the digital and technological divide among and within countries and foster sustainable development in its three dimensions in a balanced and integrated manner.

We stress the importance of strengthening North-South cooperation, including through the fulfillment of Official Development Assistance commitments to support the development needs of the countries of the South. At the same time, we agree to continue working on the development of science and technology in developing countries by strengthening South-South cooperation, which is necessary to optimize our potential and complement our resources and expertise, while offering viable pathways to address common challenges among developing countries and to, inter alia, accelerate progress in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

We further encourage the promotion of triangular cooperation projects and programs to improve developing countries' access to more and better resources for the implementation of technical and scientific initiatives.

This Chapter should address the existing disparities between developed and developing countries in terms of conditions, possibilities and capacities to produce new scientific and technological knowledge. Therefore, it should call upon the international community, the United Nations System and the International Financial Institutions to support the efforts of the countries of the South to develop and strengthen their national science, technology and innovation systems.

We urge developed countries to urgently mobilize means of implementation such as technology transfer, technical assistance, capacity building and financing through new, additional, and predictable resources in relation to the needs of developing countries, in accordance with their national needs, policies and priorities.

It should also recognize that intellectual property rights should contribute to the promotion of technological innovation in a way that favors social and economic welfare taking into account national laws, and should call for applying the flexibilities enshrined in relevant international legal obligations in the field of intellectual property rights, where applicable, as well as the consideration of more potential flexibilities to developing countries to assist them in attaining global environmental objectives, as well as facilitating the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries.

This Chapter should also take into account the need to better realize the benefits and address the challenges of space technologies, artificial intelligence and other new and emerging technologies, in particular the major impediments that developing countries face in accessing them and the risks associated to their use. We stress that capacity building for developing countries for the productive use of such technologies should be given due consideration.

The Group emphasizes the importance of the full and equal participation of all countries in any decisions and processes regarding recommendations for the international governance of artificial intelligence. Any governance frameworks to be developed for artificial intelligence or any other new and emerging technologies must take into account the particular needs of developing countries. In order to achieve this goal, transfer of technology on favorable terms for developing countries, as well as associated capacity-building are of vital importance.

It should also be recognized in the Chapter that technological monopolies and other unfair practices could hinder technological development and innovation worldwide, in particular in developing countries. Therefore, the international community must work together to foster an open, fair and inclusive environment for scientific and technological development and cooperation.

Regarding the aspect of Digital Cooperation, the Group will be submitting to you the written inputs we sent for the development of a global digital compact (GDC) as we understand that the GDC will be addressing the matter of digital cooperation.

Since member states agreed as part of the preparatory process of the Summit of the Future to hold open, transparent and inclusive intergovernmental consultations on a global digital compact which would be annexed to the Pact for the Future if intergovernmentally agreed, we propose to include only a placeholder in this Chapter on digital cooperation, pending discussions on the GDC, while the focus of the rest of the Chapter should mainly be on science, technology and innovation.

We would like to take this opportunity to request the co-facilitators of the global digital compact to convene, at least one informal consultation on the issues paper with member states before the release of the zero draft, as we have not been given an opportunity to provide feedback on it. It is not our intention to negotiate the paper, but to reflect on it and provide guidance for the preparation of the zero draft. We would also like to enquire into the timeframe in which the co-facilitators plan to release the zero draft.

To conclude, the Group will continue to engage in these informal consultations in a constructive manner and with the objective to provide substantive inputs for the elaboration of the zero draft.

Thank you.