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STATEMENT BY

H.E. AMBASSADOR SYED MOHD HASRIN AIDID
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MALAYSIA

TO THE UNITED NATIONS

 

HANDOVER CEREMONY OF THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF

THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA

 

 

Mr. Chair,

 

At the outset, I wish to congratulate Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and Cuba on assuming the Chairmanship of the G77 and China for the year 2023. We are confident under your able leadership, the Group would be able to continue advancing the interests of developing countries in the various processes throughout the year.

 

2.     Allow me to also express my appreciation to Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as well as Ambassador Munir Akram and his team in New York for their able Chairmanship of the G77 and China for the year 2022.

 

3.     Malaysia aligns itself with the statements delivered respectively by Indonesia on behalf of ASEAN, and Azerbaijan, on behalf of NAM.

 

Mr. Chair,

 

4.     Developing countries continue to face multiple challenges inherited from various crises of the past years. In light of this challenging backdrop, the World Bank predicts that growth among developing countries is projected to fall to 2.7% in 2023 from 3.8% in 2022. The emergence of new COVID-19 variants will likely further disrupt the already fragile economic conditions.

 

5.     Sadly, the coverage of vaccines remains highly uneven throughout the world. Only 8% of the population in low-income countries has received at least one dose of the vaccine. In contrast, more than 75% of the population of developed countries is vaccinated, compared with 55% in developing countries. Malaysia reiterates the critical importance of advancing global vaccination process to accelerate recovery efforts, towards realising the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.

 

Mr. Chair,

 

6.     On South-South Cooperation, Malaysia believes that we have not fully reaped its full potential. The exchange of knowledge and sharing of expertise are vital towards achieving sustainable development among the global South. For decades, Malaysia has actively assisted developing countries by providing technical assistance in various areas such as economic planning, finance and trade, agriculture, education, industrial technical training and diplomacy, particularly through the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP). Malaysia believes that it has become more critical than ever for the global South to begin exploring new mutually beneficial ventures between developing countries.

 

Mr. Chair,

 

7.     This year, multiple conferences and summits will be held such as the LDC Conference, Water Conference, SDG Summit, preparatory ministerial meeting of the Summit of the Future and many others. It is therefore imperative for the Group to prepare well. Malaysia looks forward to the leadership of Cuba in galvanising the Group’s collective efforts in these various processes. Please be assured of Malaysia’s full cooperation and support to your Chairmanship in fixing the broken system as mentioned by the Secretary-General and work collectively to realise a just and sustainable global economic development architecture.

 

I thank you.