Madam Chair,

1. I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the 14 member states of the Pacific Islands Forum with presence here in New York. 

2. We acknowledge the Secretary-General’s report on South-South cooperation and reaffirm South-South cooperation as a key modality to help accelerate progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the context of the Decade of Action.  

3. The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting Pacific Island Countries long-standing vulnerabilities intensifying the challenges that we face and further highlighting the importance of an effective United Nations Development System and south-south cooperation.

4. In this regard we welcome the progress made thus far in the implementation of the Secretary General recommendations on the Multi-Country Office Review, including in the establishment of the new MCO in the North Pacific. We look forward to the full operationalization of the office to further enhance the delivery of services on the ground in our region. We also note the ongoing discussions on the funding modalities of the RC system and reiterate the importance of having adequate, predictable and sustainable funding.
5. The member states of the Pacific Island Forum support the shift within the United Nations development system from an ‘ad hoc’ to a more programmatic approach which allows for ongoing improvements in South-South cooperation.  We urge further action to share best-practise, scale up and develop capacity in order to promote cooperation among the countries of the Global South in areas including vaccine equity, digitalisation, climate resilience, social protection, poverty eradication, regional cooperation and participation in global value chains.

6. We support the SG’s call with regard to the BAPA+40 to enable developing countries to improve their productive capacities, in strategic sectors such as agriculture, industry and energy, through South-South and triangular cooperation.

7. Pacific Leaders in 2017 endorsed the Pacific Roadmap for Sustainable Development to promote national and regional ownership to deliver sustainable development in ways that reflect and consider the Pacific context and prioritises the use of Pacific expertise, scaling up and expanding regional cooperation through peer-to-peer learning and South-South cooperation.

8. Through our ongoing South-South cooperation initiatives, the Blue Pacific region is in a better position to understand what works and what does not in bringing about more effective use and accountability for all development resources including ODA, climate financing and other sources of financing.

9. The lessons learned, good development practices and sharing of experiences across the Pacific in development effectiveness has helped the region to operationalise and report at the global, regional and national levels on the SDGs, the SAMOA Pathway, the Addis Abba Accord, the GPEDC and the Framework for Pacific Regionalism.

10. Finally, as a grouping, we recognise the importance of strengthened coordination and collaboration for the effective implementation of the SDGs by 2030 and we will continue to effectively utilise financing options; coordination mechanisms; local, national and regional capacities and institutions to strengthen our planning, budgeting and implementation as identified in nationally designed monitoring and reporting processes.

11. Where appropriate, we will draw lessons learned through the Voluntary National Review (VNR) processes and promote best practices envisaged in the Framework for Pacific Regionalism and as the Blue Pacific Continent.

12.  As always, the members of the Pacific Island Forum stand ready to cooperate with you on this important work.

I thank you.