Distinguished Chair,

Excellencies,

Colleagues,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of ten members of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) namely, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Republic of Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, as well as Fiji. This statement is aligned to the statement that has delivered by Belize on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

We convey our thanks and deepest appreciation to the outgoing Chair of the Group, H.E. Mr. Sameh Hassan Shokry Selim for his sterling leadership of the Group of 77 and China. At a time when multilateralism is under increasing pressure, Egypt through its leadership and tireless efforts has been able to advance the interests of the Group through dialogue, compromise and consensus.

PSIDS expresses its sincerest thanks to Ambassador Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees, and team Egypt for exceptional work in 2018. Their hard work in has helped to advance the Group’s interests in the UN, in important negotiations and discussions on UN reform, the 2030 Agenda and most recently in Katowice on climate negotiations.   

I convey our appreciation to the Secretariat in the support and guidance they continue to provide to the Group that allows for cohesiveness and continuity within the Group.

We offer our congratulations to His Excellency Ambassador Riyad H. Mansour and to the delegation of the Permanent Observer Mission of the State to Palestine as the incoming Chair of the Group of 77 and China. We offer assurances of our support, cooperation and offer to assist in any way we can.

Mr. Chairman,

Our strength as a Group has always been our unity. The Secretary General at his most recent briefing issued a red alert on the many challenges facing the UN. From climate change and oceans under stress, to the financing of this very organization. Under such circumstances, PSIDS looks to the G77 and to your leadership as we navigate these challenges together. Under such circumstances, I wish to speak to a few key areas.

Firstly, on Climate Change, there is a need now more than ever before for greater ambition. As we heard at the Secretary General’s briefing, it is time for greater ambition on mitigation, greater ambition on adaptation, greater ambition on innovation and greater ambition on financing. The Climate Summit in September is the first time ever a UN Secretary General will be hosting such an occasion. This is also timely given that SDG 13 will be one of the SDGs under review at this year’s High Level Political Forum. The Climate Summit is an important step towards further garnering political will and action to fight the ongoing threats that Climate Change poses to our way of life and we look forward to the Group’s support and leadership in this.

Secondly, the ocean is at the very heart of the shared identity of the Pacific SIDS. 2019 is an important year as we will see the second and third rounds of negotiations on the legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond jurisdiction. We will also see work underway on the Second UN Ocean Conference to be convened in 2020. The conservation and sustainable use of the marine environment is vital to our economies and our livelihoods. The interlinkages between the health of our ocean and the achievement of goals and targets in the 2030 Agenda is irrefutable and it is therefore imperative that we continue to push for measures that will sustain the health, productivity and resilience of our Ocean.

Thirdly, this year will see the Mid-Term Review of the SAMOA Pathway. The SAMOA Pathway addresses the specific needs and priorities of SIDS hence this Mid-Term review will provide the much needed assessment of how far we need to go in furthering its implementation. On a separate but related issue, the repositioning of the UN Development System and the reform of the Multi-Country Office will be an area that we as Pacific SIDS will continue to pay close attention to. This reform and repositioning is crucial to making the UN more responsive to the development priorities of PSIDS.

Mr. Chairman,  

2019 is an important year for us. Climate Change, Oceans, UN reform, are just a few of the priority areas in which we need to work closely together on, to ensure our collective interests are advanced.

We know that leading a Group such as ours will not be an easy task, with its diversity and size. You have our full support and cooperation. We have high hopes and are confident that under your Leadership, we will see new levels of engagement and cooperation that will allow for more targeted and innovative solutions to advance the interests of the Group as a whole.

I once again assure you of the support of the PSIDS and we look forward to working together collaboratively for a successful 2019.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman