STATEMENT BY
H.E. SYED MOHD HASRIN AIDID
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MALAYSIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
AT THE FORTY-FOURTH ANNUAL MEETING OF MINISTERS FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA
NEW YORK, 12 NOVEMBER 2020
Mr Chairman,
I wish to begin by expressing our utmost appreciation to the Government of Guyana for convening this important Meeting and its able stewardship as the Chair of the Group of 77 and China.
2. I wish to also take this opportunity to extend our congratulations to the Republic of Guinea on its assumption as the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China for the year 2021.
3. As one of the Group’s founding members, Malaysia is proud of the progress and achievements made at the United Nations by the Group of 77 and China on issues of great importance to developing countries, even in these unprecedented times.
Mr Chairman,
Multilateralism, Cooperation and Solidarity
4. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused great disruption to the world, impacting not only our public health system but also the economy and social institutions of our country. These threats are the greatest in the developing countries where the ability to respond effectively to the crisis, on both the health and economic fronts, has been hampered by years of austerity.
5. The international community must come together if we ever hope to weather this storm. Global cooperation and multilateralism are essential to our survival, especially as we are among those that suffer the consequences the most.
6. Indeed, multilateralism was already under stress before the crisis. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that multilateralism is indispensable and inevitable. The current times demand frank discussion and bold proposals that match the ambition shown when our Group was founded. The Group needs to strengthen its unity and solidarity, especially in recovering and building back better from the crisis.
Mr Chairman,
SDGs Implementation
7. It is a terrible thing to concede that the COVID-19 pandemic has reversed decades of hard-won gains made, and disrupt our ongoing efforts towards achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
8. We are deeply concerned that, as reported by UNCTAD, around 90 to 120 million people will be pushed into extreme poverty in the developing world. Hunger and malnutrition will be certain to follow. Income gaps will further widen. These numbers are unthinkable and simply not acceptable.
9. A comprehensive implementation of SDGs is needed, and should serve as the roadmap for our recovery efforts. Malaysia remains committed to support the 2030 Agenda, our Decade of Action, and to ensure that no one is left behind.
10. Malaysia has adopted mitigating strategies to address socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 by placing the people’s wellbeing at the heart of our policy. We are confident, God willing, that Malaysia not only recovers but emerges stronger from the pandemic.
Mr. Chairman,
Economic Recovery
11. The global state we are facing is more challenging than ever. This Great Lockdown, as the IMF calls it, has tipped the global economy into recession on a scale not witnessed since the 1930s. It has also exposed a USD 2-3 trillion financing gap in the developing world which the international community has, so far, failed to address.
12. Domestically, Malaysia has undertaken structural economic reforms to address the negative impact of the COVID-19 onslaught. We have begun the implementation of economic recovery strategies, followed by an all-inclusive economic revitalisation programme. We need to facilitate global economic recovery by addressing the COVID-19 pandemic holistically, through a free and fair multilateral trading system.
13. In this spirit, Malaysia wishes to encourage the Membership to continue to strengthen our coordination and work closely with the United Nations system, international financial institutions, regional organisations and other stakeholders for the benefit of developing countries.
Mr. Chairman,
Sustainability
14. The pandemic must be treated as a turning point as we reflect on our relationship with nature. We are pleased to note that recovery strategies in some advanced and developing countries have included measures to help build resilience on both the health and environmental fronts.
15. Malaysia remains firm in ensuring that our development plans are geared towards sustainability - both for the environment and for the peoples. We owe this to the generations to come.
Mr. Chairman,
16. On that note, I take this opportunity to express our full support for the Chairmanship of the Republic of Guinea in pursuing the efforts to advance and safeguard the interests of developing nations. Malaysia will work closely with other members of the Group in our common pursuit of economic development and prosperity as well as the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
I thank you.