STATEMENT BY
MS. YANG AISHAH ADNAN
FIRST SECRETARY
PERMANENT MISSION OF MALAYSIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
AT THE SECOND COMMITTEE
AGENDA ITEM 25: OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT
14 OCTOBER 2021
Madam Chair,
Malaysia aligns itself with the statements delivered by Guinea on behalf of the G77 and China as well as by Thailand, on behalf of ASEAN, respectively.
2. First of all, Malaysia commends the progress made in implementing the mandates of the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) and the efforts to consolidate the UNDS reform. Malaysia further appreciates the strong commitment of the Secretary-General and the UNDS in assisting countries to alleviate the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, which have wiped out a decade’s worth of development gains in most developing countries.
Madam Chair,
3. In light of the ongoing global health crisis, Malaysia is of the view that South-South Cooperation has become more important than ever. As a testament to this, Malaysia continues to provide capacity-building and technical assistance programmes under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP). These programmes among others, focus on areas of health services, education, agriculture, sustainable development, poverty eradication, diplomacy, economy, and IR 4.0. To date, 144 countries including LDCs, SIDS and LLDCs have benefitted from the MTCP programmes, which support and assist them with their national development agenda.
4. Malaysia believes that solidarity among developing countries would further contribute to international peace, stability and prosperity. Malaysia further notes that in the last decade, South-South trade increased from USD 0.6 trillion in 1995 to USD 4 trillion in 2016, making up almost 29% of global trade. It is a powerful reminder of the opportunity that exists within the South which could be extended to partners in the North. However, Malaysia reiterates that South-South Cooperation only complements the North-South cooperation, and not a substitute.
Madam Chair,
5. The pandemic has served as a litmus test for the repositioning of the UNDS including its new Resident Coordinator system. Malaysia acknowledges the comprehensive response led by the Resident Coordinators and the UN Country Teams in addressing the specific needs of Member States in ensuring sustainability in our recovery efforts from the COVID-19 crisis.
6. Malaysia will continue to extend its support in cooperative manner towards mitigating the impacts of the pandemic. We are confident that the UNDS would continue to deliver transparent and results-based progress particularly in supporting integrated national policies towards achieving the SDGs. Only through a coordinated collaboration can we ensure that no one is left behind. Moving forward, Malaysia stands ready to work with the UNCT to strengthen the review mechanism of such collaboration to accelerate recovery efforts and build back better in achieving the 2030 Agenda.
7. Malaysia further notes the persisting question with regard to the overall funding of the Resident Coordinator’s system. We remain optimistic and confident that Member States will be able to decide and put forward the best sustainable solution to address the issue.
Madam Chair,
8. Malaysia also believes in the need to intensify the participation of CSOs through a whole-of-society approach to step up the nation’s sustainable development agenda. To this end, the role of CSOs will be institutionalised in various governance mechanism, especially in the implementation and monitoring of development programmes at the grassroots level. We are confident that such collaboration will enhance sustained implementation of the SDGs in the country.
9. To conclude, Malaysia strongly believes that South-South Cooperation offers a potential pathway to complement North-South Cooperation in building back better and resume progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs. We stand ready to continue working with other partners through the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) in delivering shared solutions to developing countries in mitigating the impacts of the pandemic.
I thank you.