Madam Chair,

1. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on the financial performance report for the budget period 2023.

2. The Group wishes to thank Mr. Chandru Ramanathan, Assistant Secretary-General and Controller, and Mr. Abdallah Bachar Bong, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) for introducing their respective reports.

3. The Group of 77 and China attaches significance to the consideration of this agenda item. Assessing the performance of the programme budget during the previous year is not only relevant for credit calculation. It is an important opportunity for the Committee to ensure that mandates are implemented in an effective and efficient manner and that the General Assembly's budgetary decisions are being adhered to. It is of little service to focus our attention on negotiating resources for the following year if we neglect to look back and assess which areas require further attention.

Madam Chair,

4. The Group regrets that, once again, because of the unpredictability in the pattern of collections, hiring and spending restrictions have been imposed, as from July and September 2023 respectively. The Group reiterates that mandate delivery must be the driver of budget implementation. We are deeply concerned that cash availability has repeatedly become a dominant factor potentially hindering mandate delivery.

5. The Group notes the proposal from the Secretary-General for a temporary suspension of the return of credits, meaning that the indicated returnable amount of USD 88.8 million would be placed, after apportionment to Member States, in a reserve that would be used in the event that collections are insufficient to enable the implementation of mandates in 2025.

6. The Group stresses, however, that the most fundamental and effective answer to the recurrent liquidity problems of the Organization depends on Member States fulfilling their obligations to pay their assessed contributions in full, on time and without conditions. We welcome the efforts from those Member States which have been making consistent efforts to reduce their arrears and to provide more predictability to the Secretariat on their payments. We also emphatically recall that one single Member State, which is also the only beneficiary of the maximum ceiling in the scale of assessments, continues to be responsible for more than half of the unpaid assessed contributions to the regular budget. The proposed temporary suspension for the return of credit is not a fundamental way of solving this problem.

7. Mindful that a new report on improving the financial situation of the Organization is also expected to be considered in the first resumed part of this seventy-ninth session, the Group will seek clarifications on this proposal and engage constructively to identify the most appropriate responses to the current situation.

Madam Chair,

8. The Group highlights the need to gain more understanding on the review of the cost-recovery fund. This is a matter on which our Group has consistently raised questions for the last years. We note that the balance of the fund has continued to grow in 2023, reaching USD 489 million and we recall resolution 78/253, part II, which provided guidance and requested more information on this important fund.

9. We also identify a need to pursue discussions on other relevant topics raised by the Advisory Committee, including transfers between sections and forward purchasing of currencies.

10. In conclusion, the Group is ready to engage constructively, with a view to achieving a successful outcome on this important agenda item.

I thank you.