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30 November 2021<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n Distinguished delegates,<\/p>\n I am honored to\u00a0speak at\u00a0the annual\u00a0gathering of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 and China.<\/p>\n At the outset, I would like to commend\u00a0the Republic of\u00a0Guinea\u00a0for its able leadership of the Group this year.<\/p>\n Allow me also to congratulate\u00a0Pakistan\u00a0for\u00a0assuming\u00a0leadership of the Group for 2022.<\/p>\n Given\u00a0their collective\u00a0negotiating capacity, the Group of 77\u00a0and China\u00a0has been a leading voice\u00a0on the multilateral stage since its inception in 1964.<\/p>\n We need that voice, now more than ever.<\/p>\n With vaccine inequality slowing down recovery from the global pandemic, especially in the context of new variants.<\/p>\n With the climate crisis only worsening in scope and scale.<\/p>\n And with both COVID and climate change fueling inequality, there has never been a more pressing time for global leadership and cooperation.<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n We must address the dual inequalities that are hindering efforts to recover and rebuild: uneven economic recovery and access to vaccines.<\/p>\n While developed countries are bouncing back from the pandemic through near universal access to vaccines and massive stimulus-led economic growth, developing countries are struggling with poor access, to vaccines and finances.<\/p>\n What is\u00a0being touted as a robust recovery of the global economy is marred by its unevenness across countries.<\/p>\n Developed countries are set to register strong growth, while developing countries lag woefully behind.<\/p>\n They are consistently held back by complex and uncompromising financial regulations and systems, including unsustainable debt.<\/p>\n These are enduring structural deficiencies that do not support efforts to boost productive capacities, especially in countries in special situations.<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n Much more needs to be done to ensure a more inclusive and equitable international financial system, one that addresses vulnerabilities and provides a global financial safety net.<\/p>\n The\u00a0G77\u00a0must not relent on calls for fairness, openness, and inclusion in the international financial and trading systems, and related institutions.<\/p>\n Calls must continually be made for increased SDG-aligned investments in developing countries in a manner that ensures debt sustainability.<\/p>\n This is also an opportune time for renewed calls for developed countries to live up to the commitment of 0.7% of GNI for official development assistance (ODA), particularly as their economies rebound.<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n Underscoring all this talk of recovery is the need to end the pandemic once and for all. This requires universal and equitable access to vaccines.<\/p>\n It also requires funding\u00a0and strengthening\u00a0vaccine sharing\u00a0platforms,\u00a0such as\u00a0the\u00a0COVID-19 Tools Accelerator and its COVAX facility.<\/p>\n I have already announced that I will convene, on 13 January\u00a02022, a High-Level Meeting intended to find ways to address vaccine inequality.<\/p>\n I trust that I will have the full support of the G77 and China in making this event a success.<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n While COVID-19 continues to plague our planet, the deeper, more existential threat of climate change continues unabated.<\/p>\n Though COP26 offered many pledges and steps in the right direction, it did not achieve the level of success required to assuage our common concerns.<\/p>\n The G77 and China can play a strong role in helping on this front, particularly by ensuring even stronger climate targets at COP27 next year<\/p>\n Likewise, on each of the major areas of discussion coming out of COP26: ambition, finance, adaptation, technology transfer, and green jobs, the G77 and China can and should lead.<\/p>\n Linked to this is the need to close the digital and energy divides, which continues to drive a wedge between our goals and our successes.<\/p>\n The world cannot achieve the SDGs or climate targets so long as half the world has little to no access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy.<\/p>\n Let us continue our calls to enhance access, investment, and capacity in renewable technology.<\/p>\n Similarly, we must rapidly shift to a more digitized, more innovative world for all. \u00a0No one should be left behind in harnessing the dividends from the global digital transformation<\/p>\n In order to maintain momentum in addressing and responding to the needs of our planet, I will convene a \u2018Moment on Nature\u2019 event in July 2022.<\/p>\n This event will aim to highlight the policy synergies generated from the various environmental high-level events and conferences over the coming months. I will be sharing more details with you in the coming days, but I also look forward to your inputs in shaping this event.<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n Whether talking about COVID-19 or achieving the goal of 1.5, we have the tools and capacities at our disposal. Only our political will remains lacking.<\/p>\n We must match our ambitions with action.<\/p>\n We must act like one global family, sharing resources, sharing wealth, sharing vaccines, sharing solar panels.<\/p>\n We cannot continue to pretend that isolationism is an option. There is no scenario where \u2018going it alone\u2019 will save us from climate change or pandemics.<\/p>\n Our borders are irrelevant in that regard.<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n I deeply appreciate\u00a0the G77 membership\u00a0for\u00a0maintaining focus on the Sustainable Development Goals, while\u00a0dealing with complex\u00a0challenges,\u00a0including the\u00a0pandemic and the climate crises.\u00a0<\/p>\n Throughout my Presidency of Hope, my Office will closely engage with the G77 and China and support\u00a0the Group\u00a0in achieving its objectives.<\/p>\n As someone who comes from Maldives, I am also proud to say that this Group, is also my family.<\/p>\n And since one always seeks the support, and wise counsel, of the family, I will continue to look forward to working with you in that regard.<\/p>\n I wish your annual Ministerial Meeting every success.<\/p>\n I thank you.\u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Remarks of H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid – Forty-Fifth Annual Meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of The Group of 77 and China<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"committee-meeting":[],"class_list":["post-253368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speeches","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n