Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Philippines aligns itself with the statement delivered by Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

Our delegation welcomes the efforts of the Secretary General to help mitigate global food insecurity and its humanitarian impact through the initiatives, Trade Facilitation Initiative and the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

The 2022 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World stated that world hunger rose further in 2021 as a result of exacerbated inequalities across and within countries. The report further stressed that projections of nearly 670 million people will still be facing hunger in 2030, which is 8 percent of the world population. Hunger continues to be a major challenge.

Given these realities, which are further compounded by, among others, certain geopolitical realities, COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, it is imperative upon us, the international community, to reaffirm our commitment and undertake concrete urgent actions to address global food insecurity.

For its part, the Philippines needs increased investments towards transformative agriculture and food systems, to ensure the well-being and full potential of the people we proudly serve and represent. Philippine President Marcos stated that food “is not just a trade commodity nor is it just a livelihood. It is an existential imperative, and a moral one.  It is the very basis of human security.”

Mr. Chair, the Philippines acknowledges the ACABQ’s comments and recommendation, stating that the SG’s proposal is related to the international cooperation in solving international problems of a humanitarian character, which is stipulated in Article 1 (3) of the UN charter, as among the purposes of the organization. Further, the proposal is related to GA resolutions 46/182 and 76/124 on the strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, as well as resolution 76/264 on the state of global food insecurity.

Given such importance and urgency of the subject proposal of the Secretary General, our delegation supports constructive engagement for the consideration of this proposal, subject to the observations laid out by the ACABQ in its report in A/77/486 and the exceptional nature of the submission process.

Our delegation looks forward to hearing fruitful discussions on this topic. Thank you, Mr. Chair.