Making the United Nations Relevant to all People– As delivered –
Statement by H.E. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly
4 December 2018
Your Excellency Gastón Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda,
Distinguished Ministers and Vice ministers,
Mr. Elliot Harris, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development and Chief Economist of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Ambassador Valentin Rybakov, Vice-president of ECOSOC and Permanent Representative of Belarus.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to preside over this high level meeting today. This meeting is the result of the tenacity of your countries, the Middle-Income Countries, to focus on the particular challenges that you are facing to fulfill the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
First, I would like to thank the Permanent Representatives of Kyrgyzstan and Norway for their important work in facilitating the consultations with Member States to prepare this Meeting.
I also thank the significant contribution of the Group of Friends of middle income countries led by Belarus and Costa Rica, and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Excellencies,
This meeting is proof for the force of multilateralism. It also reflects the concern and great interest of the international community in 70% of the world population concentrated in 109 countries that accommodate 73% of the people who live in conditions of poverty.
In the last 50 years, Middle Income Countries have become a growing economic force. Their contribution to the global Gross Domestic Product increased from 18 to 33% and their participation in world exports went from 21 to 30%, approximately.
But the contributions of Middle Income Countries are not only limited to the economic growth of the world.
As these countries contain most of the world’s population, the progress made to decrease poverty, hunger and social inclusion has also had positive effects in improving overall global living conditions.
Yet, they are still facing a series of challenges that compromise their ability to fulfill their development needs. In fact, the particular needs of these countries have become more complex and have led to new approaches on methods to measure their development.
These novel proposals to define Middle Income Countries have allowed us to better understand the multidimensional nature of sustainable development.
Excellencies,
A classification based simply on per capita income has not allowed to reflect the diversity of the needs, challenges and capabilities that determine the development options and trajectories of Middle Income Countries.
Hence, if their structural obstacles and areas of vulnerability are not addressed properly, the full achievement of the 2030 Agenda will be compromised. Therefore, closing the gaps of poverty, inequality, financing and investment is fundamental.
We need to mobilize financial and technical resources. The sustained and predictable growth of domestic resources is important and its use must be efficient. To achieve this, developing redistributive fiscal policies that can broaden the tax base is essential.
The sources of external financing –such as direct foreign investment and international cooperation- are equally crucial.
Differentiated access to capital markets and concessional financing is vital to avoid jeopardizing the sustainability of debt, considering that many Middle Income Countries already have high levels of indebtedness.
Excellencies,
Middle Income Countries need responsible investments, with social responsibility, that respect human rights, environmental, fiscal and labor regulations.
Likewise, gender equality and the economic empowerment of women make the difference. We must guarantee the egalitarian participation of women in politics and in economic and social development.
Excellencies,
Currently, Middle Income Countries are in a paradoxical situation.
Since the per capita income still mainly guides the logic for assigning of the Official Development Assistance, Middle Income Countries have regrettably suffered a drastic reduction in development contribution flows.
We must renew the foundations of cooperation for development, including south-south and triangular cooperation, and focus on sustainability and reducing inequalities.
The Second High Level Meeting of the United Nations on South-South Cooperation that will be held on March, 2019, in Argentina, will be an excellent opportunity for the “gap approach.”
We must also continue to work with the most vulnerable countries and countries in special situations to promote a broad and integral approach that is consolidated in the international cooperation system, guaranteeing that the needs of low and middle income countries are addressed in a fair and equitable way.
Small island developing states and landlocked countries are facing even more complex challenges that we must also consider. Hence, we must foster strategies that strengthen middle income African countries to contribute to the success of the 2063 Agenda.
This meeting is proof for the force of multilateralism. It also reflects the concern and great interest of the international community in 70% of the world population concentrated in 109 countries that accommodate 73% of the people who live in conditions of poverty.
Excellencies,
I trust that, from the debates and exchanges that will take place today, we will obtain innovative proposals to solve the paradoxes faced in middle income countries.
Additionally, I hope that this meeting contributes to coordinate clear and effective strategies to move forward in the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Objectives.
The ambition and universal nature of the 2030 Agenda forces us all to work in all levels in a coordinated and supportive manner, among all.
To conclude, I wish you the greatest success and, as President of the General Assembly, I wish your deliberations are fruitful and allow you to bolster your efforts to achieve an inclusive, sustainable and lasting development for your countries.
Welcome.
Thank you.
