Your Excellency Ambassador Kingsley Mamabolo, Chairperson of the Group of 77,
Excellencies,

I thank you for this opportunity to address the 46th meeting of the Chairpersons of the G77.

I congratulate the Group and its Chapters for their engagement in shaping the wide-ranging UN agenda.

As you meet, the consultations on the post-2015 development agenda are underway.

You are focusing on preliminary global indicators; approaches to implementation at the national level; coordination with the financing for development process; and a technology facilitation mechanism.

These are all very important issues.

An ambitious and universal post-2015 development agenda will send a message that humanity is changing direction towards a more prosperous, equitable and sustainable future.

It will bring real transformation.

As the post-2015 Summit approaches, we need to remember that it is not an isolated event.

It is a culmination of other events we are having this year, and it should influence all development events that will follow, most notably the Paris meeting on climate change in December.

Just two weeks ago, in Sendai, Japan, we saw a demonstration of this linkage.

The international community agreed to significantly reduce deaths, destruction and displacement caused by natural disasters by 2030.

The dangers were painfully illustrated in the same week to the people of Vanuatu, whose livelihoods were wrecked by Tropical Cyclone Pam.

Allow me to express my condolences to the people and Government of Vanuatu and recommit the support of the United Nations.
This sad event emphasized the urgent need to anticipate, plan for and reduce such risk and to build resilience to more effectively protect people, communities and countries.

These key sustainability building blocks need to be included in the post-2015 development agenda, and should also be backed by adequate financing commitments.

Excellencies,

In two weeks, the consultations on the Financing for Development process will continue.

I encourage you to work towards a financing framework and concrete deliverables in areas such as agriculture, infrastructure and social needs.

This will provide a positive signal about the shared commitments to a sustainable future.

It is my hope that the Addis Ababa conference will act as a linchpin for a successful outcome of the post-2015 negotiations, as well as for a meaningful universal climate agreement in Paris.

In your efforts, I urge you to continue to advocate for a holistic approach to financing for development, with financing and other means of implementation aligned, and where official development assistance is matched by commitments on broader systemic issues and an enabling environment.

I also urge you to ensure your governments’ participation at the highest possible level.

This will be critical for the success of the implementation of the new post-2015 development agenda.

Excellencies,

Another high priority should be the fostering of robust multi-stakeholder partnerships – with civil society, the private sector, foundations, academia and the media.

This is needed to complement official efforts towards sustainable development.

I continue to advocate for more effective secretariat and intergovernmental arrangements to make these partnerships work even more effectively.

I and my colleagues are available to work with you to discuss these issues further.

We have also emphasized the importance of a strong follow-up and review mechanism.

This arises from the lessons we learned from the Millennium Development Goals – where the follow-up on the global partnership for development was repeatedly identified as the weakest link.

Already we have a credible architecture for follow-up and review, in the form of the High-Level Political Forum under the auspices of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council.

I urge you to build on, and strengthen, these existing platforms for an effective approach to monitoring and review.

This will be particularly critical at the national level.

Ultimately, delivering on poverty eradication and sustainable development is a national responsibility, supported by a revitalized global partnership for development.

There will be need for strong national sustainable development strategies.

There should also be robust arrangements for financing these strategies.

Finally, we will need good data and information systems in undertaking all the above.

The Independent Expert Advisory Group on a Data Revolution for Sustainable Development that I established last year recommended measures to close data gaps and strengthen national statistical capacities.

The Statistical Commission and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, working with all stakeholders, will help us to address the challenges of data and statistics for better decision-making and accountability in the post-2015 era.

Excellencies,

The post-2015 sustainable development agenda is going to influence all aspects of our lives.

Each and every chapter of the Group of 77 has a role to play in shaping this agenda and ensuring its implementation.

The United Nations is ready to support you.

Thank you.