(Opening Session) Group of 77 - 49th Annual Meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs

Let's start. Madam President of the General Assembly, Madam Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, honorable ministers, excellencies, distinguished delegates. I welcome all of you and declare open the 49th annual meeting of the ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 and China. I greatly appreciate your presence here as we undertake important work today. With your cooperation and support, I am confident that our deliberations will yield constructive and productive outcomes. Please allow me now to deliver my opening statement. Your Excellency, Mrs. Anneliina Barbouk, President of the General Assembly. Your Excellency, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Excellencies, distinguished ministers, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to begin by welcoming you to our meeting and by expressing my sincere appreciation for your personal dedication to the work of our group and for the continued support extended to Iraq in its role as chair of the Group of 77 and China this year. This year marks an exceptional moment in the history of multilateralism as the international community commemorates the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. As the largest coalition of developing countries within the UN, the Group of 77 and China carries a historic responsibility to safeguard the principles of the Charter, to promote international cooperation, and to ensure the voices and aspirations of the global south are heard and respected. We are also at a crossroad with under five years to 2030. We find ourselves off track to implement the SDGs, increase in poverty, widening inequalities, rising commodities prices, the proliferations of conflicts, and the growing impact of climate change. These are compounded by the willing of development, finance, and some outdated institutions that are not fit for purpose to address the needs and priorities of the developing countries. In this way, the Secretary General UN 80 initiative for the United Nations seems to provide an opportunity for us to work together to improve the system to serve our countries better. We must ensure that this undertaking is done in a comprehensive and in-depth manner that closely examines the current culture and play of things and then evaluate how we move forward to secure a more efficient, effective and productive institution. G77 is prepared to constructively contribute to this process. However, we reiterate the importance of renewing our global partnership for development and reaffirming the core principles of inclusivity, equity, and respect for sovereignty in shaping the future of multilateralism. Excellencies. Since assuming the chairmanship of the group in January, the Republic of Iraq has sought to translate our shared priorities into a unified and proactive agenda. We remain committed to strengthening our cooperation, unity and solidarity so that in numbers that G77 and China becomes a force to reckon with. We reaffirm our collective commitment to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a focus on eradicating poverty, ensuring quality education, achieving universal health coverage, and promoting inclusive economic growth. We reaffirm our commitment to the Sevillea compromise and call for its full and urgent implementation. We underscore the need to respect national ownership and development priorities and emphasize the importance of mobilizing international support through strengthened partnership and the fulfillment of development financing commitments. In this regard, We continue to promote South-South cooperation as a key instrument for sustainable development, while also recognizing the complementary roles of triangular and North-South cooperation and mobilizing their resources, knowledge, and partnership required to achieve our shared goals. Excellencies, as we move forward, into the main segment of the 80th session of the General Assembly and the forthcoming major conference such as the World Social Summit and COP30, to name a few, we need to unite even more tightly to counterattack the new geopolitical dynamics which seems to be disproportionately affecting and aimed at our countries. In closing, I wish on behalf of the members of the G77 to assure you, Madam President of the General Assembly, and Madam Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, that we will work with you both to ensure that we continue to move in the right direction to accelerate our development agenda However, we need a more positive response from our developed partners to the legitimate objectives and aspirations of our countries. And we look forward to your assistance in mobilizing this response. We will not secure either without mutual support, solidarity, and unity. Let this mutual support, solidarity, and unity become our guiding principles as we endeavor to build a better and prosperous tomorrow for our peoples. I thank you. Honorable ministers, excellencies, distinguished delegates, we are honored by the presence of the president of the General Assembly and the deputy secretary general of the United Nations. I'm now pleased to invite her excellency, Annalena Baerbock, president of the 80th session of the General Assembly to address this ministerial meeting. Please, the floor is yours.

I thank you, Your Excellency, Fuad Hussein, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iraq and Chair of the Group 77 and China, Madam Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohamed. Excellencies, dear friends, I'm very honored that I not only invited, but have the chance to work with the next year with all of you and also having the chance to be in this important group to see some of my former colleagues and friends again as foreign ministers, but also to be speaking here at this group of 77 and China, which represents 135 member states. So it's not only the biggest group and thereby the most important group of this General Assembly, this group also not only compromises half of the world's population, but it's also the biggest negotiation block in the United Nations. And when you speak or for the foreign ministers here, your PR speak, the world listens. For 60 years, you have not only been the voice of developing countries, you have delivered results, you played a historic role in shaping the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, a blueprint for a fairer future. You have shown leadership in climate negotiations. And again, out of my former role, I remember very well the intense negotiations on the loss and damage fund at COP27. I think a real milestone, not only for global cooperation for developing countries, but also showing that the international system works, that multilateralism works, because this fund set up a new understanding of cooperation, especially as you have mentioned, Dear Chair, dear Prime Minister, Deputy, also about South-South cooperation and triangle cooperation, I would say the new forms of cooperating in these challenging times. But also at the fourth international conference on financing for development in Seville this past July, your advocacy was decisive. pressing for debt restructuring, for fairer access to finance, and reforms to make the international financial system more responsive to the needs of the developing countries. By acting collectively and speaking with one voice, you continue to prove that we are indeed better together, also the theme of the 80th session. At this extraordinary moment when our United Nations turns 80 and with only five years left to achieve the sustainable development goals, the world needs your engagement and leadership more than ever. And I would like to focus on three points in this regard to exchange with you, especially having the chance to speak also with the foreign ministers here today. that we indeed have a responsibility to sustain momentum on implementing the Pact for the Future, the global blueprint adopted 2025 to revitalise multilateralism, whose one-year anniversary we mark this September. In 2024, the financing gap for the SDGs rose to approximately four trillion US dollars, trillion, not billion, per year. So it's clear we cannot achieve the SDGs if we are not tackling this injustice. Money that could have been used for funding solar panels, for expanding healthcare or building schools. And it's very clear that multilateralism cannot be called effective if it fails to address the challenges of the vast majority of humanity. And as I underlined yesterday also at the opening of the general debate, without sustainable development, without justice in regard of development, there cannot be lasting peace on this world. Throughout its history, the Group of 77 and China has pushed those perspective to the forefront. ensuring that the concerns of the majority are not an afterthought, but central for solution for the borderless crises of our time. You have worked tirelessly to advance the 2030 agenda and to champion solution that benefit all of humanity. And I would like to underline that this is also a priority of my presidency in this 80th session. That same energy we need for the second point I would like to mention, to deliver on the promises of this institution, we have to make this institution fit for purpose. And again, as I said also yesterday, fit for purpose doesn't mean only one pillar of the United Nations, but all three, peace and security, human rights and sustainable development. On this, the Group of 77 and China has also played a crucial role. We are at the midst of this reform process, especially smaller countries have always highlighted that not everything is working very well in this institution. So the current process, the UNAD initiative started by the Secretary General, is really a moment for increasing not only the power and role of this institution, but also on delivering on the SDG. And on this point, I would like to be a bit candid here, having the chance also speaking to capitals and governments at this point. We have discussed it already briefly with some of the PRs, not all of the PRs here, that this reform can only fly and deliver if it's not only being discussed here in New York, but embraced by the capitals. We really need the leadership of every country to embrace this reform because we know that there are different views and different perspectives. So those who believe in this institution, this is the moment to embrace it. And again, this group plays a special role because you are already presenting 135 countries. So discussions you are leading here in this room or in your group give already a hint to what we might challenge also in the whole General Assembly. So if I may, I would like to ask for your support or help for the Secretariat, but also for the PGA, especially when you're facing here problems, as we discussed also, that there's a very especially of smaller countries that this could be just a cost-cutting exercise. It's definitely not. And it's for sure not for the PGA. This exercise is to deliver on the pact for the future, to deliver on the sustainable development goals of 2030, to deliver on the charter. So again, the world needs your leadership to make this organization stronger, more agile, and more effective. We have another patch of this really addressed to the General Assembly. This is the mandate implementation review under UNAD. It really touches the core of the General Assembly also in relation to the Security Council. So the review that we have so much paper which probably none of you have ever read at least when I was a foreign minister yeah I could hardly have track on all the resolution being discussed here but if we really want to look at the important ones we have to reduce this workload but this is not easy because every resolution is connected to a history. So again, in this process, we would need your support. And these reforms are intensively linked also to the upcoming budget review and the work of the fifth committee. Speaking about budget, this is my third point, and we discussed it already this morning at the first biennial summit for the sustainable IFI. So the question of fair finance and also breaking the debt cycle circle is our highest agenda. This means putting the multidimensional vulnerability index into practice so that especially small island developing states, least developed countries, and landlocked developed countries can access support on fair and equitable terms. It also means widening the circle of decision making to include those most vulnerable and marginalized indigenous communities, women and youth. And it means holding us accountable for delivery, measuring promises against progress, targets must be clear, timelines must be real, reporting must be open. That is how we rebuild trust. That is how we deliver inclusive, effective multilateralism. This is what this group has stood for in the past, and this is how we should work together also in the future to be better together. And thanks again having me here today.

Thank you very much. I wish to thank the President of the General Assembly for her important statement. and for her continued commitment to advance the development agenda. We deeply value your support and look forward to continue close cooperation. Now, I am pleased to invite Her Excellency Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations to address the meeting. Your Excellency, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Excellency Mr. Fuad Mohammed Hussein, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq. Her Excellency Ms. Annalena Baerbock, the President of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Excellencies, on behalf of the Secretary-General, I'd like to congratulate Iraq for its leadership of the G77 and China through this extremely troubled and turbulent time of our world. Global tensions are intensifying and they're hitting developing countries hardest and holding sustainable development back, depriving people of a life of dignity. Climate disasters are escalating, geopolitical tensions are mounting, and conflicts are devastating communities from Gaza to Sudan and far beyond. But amidst these struggles, we see glimmers of progress and hope. Our task is to keep pushing for dignity, justice and solidarity to ensure that the world keeps its promises to developing countries. First, on sustainable development, with five years remaining to 2030, we must be guided by our commitment to the sustainable development goals and our pledge to eradicate poverty and to leave no one behind. I recognise your efforts to transform food systems, invest in gender equality and create opportunities for young people and decent jobs. But success relies on finance, the fuel of sustainable development. Above all, that requires reforming today's outdated, unjust and unfair international financial architecture. to ensure that developing countries have a much greater voice and influence in shaping decisions and better access to the resources that you need to achieve the sustainable development goals. Building on the pact for the future, countries agreed the severe commitment calling for just and inclusive development financing, tripling the lending capacity of multilateral development banks, reforming the global debt architecture, and mobilizing private capital at scale. We would like to applaud the leadership of the G20 under the courageous steer of South Africa in these very turbulent times of great uncertainty. Excellencies, the upcoming Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha and the UN Climate Conference in Brazil are also pivotal moments to make concrete progress. This brings me to my second point, climate. Many of your countries have done next to nothing to unleash this crisis, yet your people and economies are suffering some of its worst effects. Climate chaos is eroding development gains, and too many are locked out of the renewables revolution, which can do so much to supercharge sustainable development. We must act without delay to limit the rise of global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius. New climate action plans, NDCs, must align with 1.5 degrees as promised. They must cover all emissions across entire economy and together deliver the energy transition goals that were agreed in COP28. This does mean a focus on 38 countries, 35 countries that actually are responsible for 83% of the emissions in the world today. The G20 must lead, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities must be actualized, but all countries must make an effort. Everyone has a role to play. We also need a step change in climate justice, particularly to deliver the funds to embrace clean energy, ensure a massive boost in adaptation, and provide for loss and damage. The third point, the new era of technology. New digital tools such as AI can power sustainable development, but we need action to unleash that potential and guardrails to ensure safety, inclusion and trust. And as the President of the General Assembly alluded to in the UN80, we can use these tools for the work of the membership and the Secretariat to make us more efficient. Last month, the General Assembly established an independent international scientific panel to connect science and policy, and a global dialogue on artificial intelligence governance to align regulatory approaches and give all countries a voice. This is a significant breakthrough in global AI cooperation. I thank the G77 and China for its commitment and its leadership in these discussions. The United Nations has also put forward innovative voluntary financing options to strengthen AI capacity in developing countries and bridge digital divides. Fourth and fundamentally, peace. Sustainable peace and sustainable development go hand in hand. Around the world, we are seeing how poverty breeds despair, despair fuels unrest, and unrest tears at the fabric of our societies, feeding mistrust, fear, and violence. At a time of growing conflict and upheaval, we must invest in peace. And that does mean the SDGs. Earlier this month, we released a report that found global military spending surged to a record $2.7 trillion, the equivalent of $334 for every person on this earth. As the SG told the General Assembly this week, this is a time of choosing, and we must choose to invest in peace, human rights, and development. On all these fronts and more, we must keep working for a world that works for developing countries and delivers peace, sustainable development, and human rights for everyone. You can count on the United Nations every step of the way. But I'd like to take this opportunity to deeply appreciate that in these turbulent times, each member state and its leadership have had a full attendance here at the United Nations, and your voice for the UN and the values it stands for are deeply appreciated. I thank you.

On behalf of the group, I extend sincere thanks to the Deputy Secretary-General for her insightful statement and her enduring support for the activities of the Group of 77. We look forward to our continued collaboration. We have concluded, ladies and gentlemen, the opening session. The meeting will pause briefly to allow our distinguished guests to depart and to prepare the podium for the plenary session. Thank you very much, and thank you for being with us.