G77 and China - Handover Ceremony, Rome Chapter - Statement by Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD

Thank you for the opportunity to speak at this year’s handover ceremony of the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China.  I wish to thank the Chairperson, Ambassador Cherniak, for his leadership of the Group’s Rome chapter through a challenging year.

The G77 and China will continue to be at the forefront of promoting growth that is inclusive, particularly for young people, small-scale producers, and small-and-medium-sized enterprises - and would remain instrumental in improving the economic opportunities and livelihoods of the world’s most marginalized people.

As an influential convener for the advancement of collective action to achieve the 2030 Agenda, the G77 and China will also continue to play a crucial role in international development efforts.

More than ever, inclusive and sustainable rural transformation is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and here, the G77 countries have an important role to play as donors, sources of expertise, trading partners and incubators for innovation.

These are essential elements for South-South and Triangular Cooperation to flourish. As the G77 and China move into 2022, undertaking an ambitious agenda, leveraging partnerships will be key to success.

We have many challenges ahead of us as a global community. Among the numerous disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on development aid and other forms of investment, we face a very difficult situation in the Black Sea Region which could further impact global food security and other socio-economic sectors.

As a result, there is a profound need to devise economic resilience strategies in order that we can rebuild in a sustainable way and ensure that no one is left behind.

The incoming 2022 Pakistani Chairmanship has identified as key priorities the need for debt restructuring and larger concessional finance from the IMF and the multilateral development banks. Agreement is still needed on important issues pertaining to digital cooperation to counter the G77’s serious concerns around the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation, and its goal to define shared principles for a digital future for all to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

As the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries in the United Nations, I believe the G77 is uniquely positioned to lead these important discussions.

IFAD stands by the G77 and China today in our joint ambition to achieve the 2030 agenda. For more than 40 years, IFAD has worked to build multi-stakeholder partnerships and forge solutions to achieve sustainable development. We will continue to work closely with you in the years to come, to make our shared vision a reality.