Mr. Chair,
At the outset, I would like to commend you, Mr. Chair, on your election as Chair of the 48th Annual Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 and China. I also wish to express my sincere thanks to the Government of the Republic of Uganda for the excellent chairmanship of the Group and tireless efforts in fostering solidarity and promoting the collective interests of our Group.
The Group of 77 and China, since its inception, has played a crucial role in promoting and advancing several development initiatives and legitimate social and economic interests of developing countries.
Mr. Chair,
The current global geopolitical and economic landscape has caused adverse consequences ranging from unpredictable financing for sustainable development to increasing incidents of poverty, widening inequality, energy insecurity, and digital divide, among others. In this context, developing countries and countries in special situations remain the most vulnerable and are severely affected by the recent crises.
In this spirit, it is even more vital for the Group to remain united in its purpose by upholding the principles of solidarity to protect our common objectives and continue to voice our common concern on the pressing development issues, including the follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and mobilization of international support needed to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other internationally agreed development agendas as well as the most recently adopted Pact for the future.
Mr. Chair,
While recognising the important contribution our Group has made in various intergovernmental negotiation processes to address the multifaceted challenges, my delegation is of the view that the Group should further strengthen our constructive and proactive engagements in the discussions of global development initiatives and frameworks aimed at ensuring fair, balanced, and equitable outcomes for the protection and promotion of common interests of developing countries, especially the group of countries in special situations.
Against this backdrop, being both LDC and LLDC, the Lao PDR has continued to encounter multi-faceted challenges in its pursuit of sustainable development, poverty eradication and LDC graduation efforts. To achieve the SDGs, the Lao PDR remains steadfast in addressing the many challenges and difficulties and achieving national development objectives including improving the overall well-being of its people. To this end, we do need continued support and cooperation from the international community especially in this context of our Group, solidarity, assistance and cooperation from our southern partners in such areas as trade, investment, sustainable development, climate change, poverty eradication, human resource development, innovations, technology transfer and digital transformation and capacity building.
Mr. Chair,
To further advance our common aspiration, the adoption of the Outcome Documents at the Third South Summit, Financing For Development Forum, and High-Level Political Forum 2024 are crucial as they set important milestones for the Group to overcome the multiple crises we are encountering. The Lao PDR believes that the Ministerial Declaration adopted today reflects our concerted efforts and common interests, notably with the emphasis on ending poverty in all its forms and mobilizing sufficient resources to implement the SDGs in the remaining period. Therefore, my delegation calls for enhanced support technically and financially from the international community as well as fulfilling their commitment to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. Also, it is my fervent hope that the outcome of the Summit of the Future will help guiding us toward attaining the ultimate goal of “leaving no one behind”.
Once again, I reiterate the Lao PDR’s full support to you, Mr. Chair, and its firm commitment to further enhance the Group’s unity and strong commitment to promote our common interests.
I thank you.
