Excellencies,

            Welcome to the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Like-Minded Group of Countries Supportive of Middle-Income Countries. First, let me thank His Excellency Manuel Ventura Robles, Foreign Affairs Secretary of the Republic of Costa Rica, and his team in New York for Costa Rica’s impressive stewardship of the Group since its inception in 2016.

            Thank you for the trust now placed on my country to continue to champion our common interests and aspirations. As Chair, the Philippines is committed to build on the work and gains achieved under the leadership of Costa Rica; we will work around the following three priorities:

1. Expansion of membership of the Group, to highlight the cross-regional nature of MICs.  We hope to work with you towards ensuring that we have members in all regional groups — from Asia-Pacific, Africa, even Europe; and increasing membership from GRULAC; 
2. Sustain high-level discussions and consideration of MICs interests in all UN platforms, including ensuring that MICs concerns are seriously considered and addressed in the ongoing UN development system reforms. The expressed intent of the ECOSOC President to prioritize and elevate the profile of financing for development discussions in the ECOSOC is of critical interest to the Group;
3. Facilitate provision of mandates to regional commissions, such as ESCAP, to ensure the inclusion of MICs in their program of work. We note that ESCAP, where the majority of the MICs are located, lacks the mandate to consider programs specifically addressed to MICs.

            Middle Income Countries are major engines of global growth. They contribute a third of the global GDP and 30 per cent of exports. Despite economic growth, we should not say we are home to three quarters of the world’s poor—which is true-- but they are mostly homeless. Our countries contain the vast majority that still lack adequate sanitation and healthcare. This is due to persistent challenges such as environmental vulnerabilities, financial obstacles to poverty eradication, inequality, the digital divide, the disruptive effects of new technology, external debt, and foremost bad governments.

            Addressing the challenges faced by MICs is necessary for the attainment of the sustainable development goals. We persist in our call to the UN System, in consultation with international financial institutions, to develop reliable and transparent measurements of progress that go beyond per capita income, and build on existing initiatives as appropriate. These should recognize poverty in all of its forms; as well as social, economic, and environmental factors in domestic output and structural gaps at all levels.

            I wish us a fruitful meeting this afternoon. Looking ahead, I look forward to celebrating the 75^th anniversary of the United Nations next year with a larger family of supporters of middle-income countries, celebrating real gains.

                Thank you. END