Secretary-General Expresses Confidence ‘G77’, at Annual Meeting, Will Use Its

Powerful Voice to Guide Transformative Universal Development Agenda

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki‑moon’s remarks to the thirty-eighth annual meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, in New York today:

Thank you for this opportunity to address you.  I commend Foreign Minister Choquehuanca as well as Ambassador Llorentty Solíz for Bolivia’s strong leadership of the Group of 77 and China this year.

I was impressed by the success of this Group’s momentous fiftieth anniversary Summit in Santa Cruz this June, and I highly commend the leadership of President Evo Morales [Ayma of Bolivia] as Chair of this important meeting.

The G77 and China have a proud history of advocating for development that is fair, lasting and equitable.  With your support and encouragement, the world has adopted important action plans, including for the Millennium Development Goals.  I am confident that the G77 will build on this valuable tradition and use its powerful voice to influence the current discussions on a new and transformative universal development agenda.

I agree with the Group that the post-2015 development agenda must finish the work of the Millennium Development Goals.  Their human development imperatives, including the eradication of poverty, must remain at the heart of the post-2015 development agenda.

The Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals has built on the Millennium Development Goals to articulate a much broader agenda, one that is universal, inclusive and responsive to the key global challenges.

Our new agenda will have many components that are central to the concerns of people living in G77 countries and China.  It will have sustainable development at its core and poverty eradication as its most urgent priority.  Our new agenda will address basic needs such as energy, infrastructure, equality, justice, inclusive growth, economic transformation, food, education, health care and decent employment.  The new agenda will address how people live in cities, what we produce and consume and how we use our ecosystems.  And it will highlight the link between development and peaceful and inclusive societies.

To be more than words on paper, the agenda will need financial and other means for its effective implementation.  Official development assistance (ODA) is a necessary but not a sufficient element of the entire financing picture.  We will need all resources:  public and private, domestic and international.  And we will need to boost cooperation on technology.

I commend the results of the Expert Committee on Sustainable Development Financing.  I also look forward to the results of the follow-up Conference on Financing for Development.  I count on the G77 and China to actively advocate for progress on this issue.

Just a few days ago, I engaged global leaders at the Climate Summit to catalyse ambitious action on the ground.  Climate change remains a defining issue of our times.  Addressing it is a key part of sustainable development.  We will not be able to deliver on the ambitions of the new development agenda without tackling the climate challenge.  I am heartened by the outcome of the Climate Summit.  I urge Member States of the Group to help me in generating positive momentum for the Conference of the Parties in Peru this year and in Paris in 2015.

Transformation is our goal.  Ending poverty and transforming our societies and economies to meet fundamental human needs is an essential step towards achieving planetary sustainability.  We need to work in partnership on these mutually reinforcing goals.  The United Nations will do everything possible to strengthen the global partnership for development.

I count on your support for His Excellency President Sam Kahamba Kutesa, as we join forces to lay the foundations for the adoption next year of a post-2015 development agenda that ensures a life of dignity for all.

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For information media • not an official record