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Madam Chair,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My delegation congratulates you on assuming the Chair of the Second Committee. We also extend felicitations to all other members of the Bureau on their election. We are happy to see you chair this important committee and assure you of our full cooperation.
We thank the outgoing Bureau for the able manner in which they conducted work of this Committee during the 64th Session.
We appreciate the Under Secretary General’s comprehensive review and analysis of the global economic situation and prospects.
Pakistan aligns itself with the statement made by the distinguished representative of Yemen on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.
Madam Chair,
The world economy continues to suffer from the impact of global economic and financial crisis. The recovery witnessed during the last few months is not only fragile and uncertain but is also uneven across countries. The fiscal stimulus provided by governments has at best arrested the freefall. Systemic issues and imbalances in the global economy still threaten sustained growth prospects. Challenges are especially daunting for developing countries, in particular:
a. Increased poverty and hunger levels are impacting human development;
b. High unemployment is causing severe economic hardship and consequential social costs, particularly when workers have been pushed into informal economy and the weak recovery is unable to create requisite jobs;
c. Reduced capital flows and deteriorated fiscal positions are seriously limiting capacities to invest in socio-economic infrastructure and to achieve internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); and
d. Tightened external financing conditions are posing serious challenges to the debt sustainability.
Madam Chair,
The recently held High-level Plenary Meeting on the MDGs provided us a good and timely opportunity to review the progress made in achieving the MDGs and renew our commitment to accelerate progress towards their achievement. The outcome document has identified the way forward. It is for us now to build stronger global partnership to implement its recommendation.
Madam Chair,
Pakistan’s fourth report on the MDGs, issued in August 2010, presents a frank and candid account of status of the progress made by Pakistan in realizing the MDGs. We were on track to achieve a number of MDGs and targets, but the negative fall out of security challenges as well as the unprecedented floods which hit the country in late July, causing massive loss to crops, dwellings, livestock, services, industrial and communication infrastructure have changed almost everything.
The rehabilitation and reconstruction in affected areas would need billions of dollars. It would have its impact on economic recovery as well as achieving MDG’s. The government of Pakistan, nevertheless, remain committed to address the challenges.
Madam Chair,
The weakened fiscal position of many developing countries and lack of relief in debt servicing obligations have taken away even the limited fiscal space that is needed to enhance development outlays. This carries serious consequences for our ability to meet the MDGs.
There is a need to seriously consider debt moratorium as well as debt relief mechanisms including debt restructuring and debt for development swaps.
It is also important that policy approaches and prescriptions by the multilateral financial institutions to stabilize economies should not lead to increase in the debt stock.
Madam Chair,
The failure to reach an agreement on the Doha Development Round of multinational trade negotiations has been a major setback to the developing countries and a serious lapse in the strengthening of global partnership for the MDGs. It is indeed unfortunate, that despite the centrality of trade to any development effort, we have not been able to break the impasse.
Pakistan is committed to an equitable, rule-based development oriented international trading system.
Amid ongoing global economic distress, a genuine and serious effort by all the stakeholders is required to break the long-standing stalemate. We need a strong political message, rising beyond politics and prejudice, to bring the Round to an early, successful, and truly development oriented conclusion.
At present many of the developing countries face an acute deficit of technology, particularly the one required to meet the challenges of increased agricultural production, renewable energy, water conservation and climate change as well as more efficient industrial production. We must make a concerted effort to eliminate this technology deficit.
Madam Chair,
There is no doubt that effective international policy coordination is needed to put the world economy on a sustainable and more balanced growth pathway. The strengthened international regulatory and surveillance environment is critical to make progress towards stable global economic system. Moreover, early reforms in the international financial and economic architecture with particular emphasis on increasing the transparency and inclusiveness in decision making are vital to remove inequalities with regard to voice and participation.
Madam Chair,
Climate change is the defining reality of our times. It is unfortunate that despite efforts to the contrary, the negotiating processes have drifted away from the Bali spirit which provided credible framework for enhanced action on mitigation, adaptation, financing and technology transfer and development. Three years of negotiations have not been able to fill the enormous gap that exist between developed and the developing countries.
While negotiations at Tianjin have begin with only six days of negotiating time left before the sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Cancun later this year, Pakistan supports the idea of evolving an agreement on a balanced set of agreement to be adopted at Cancun. There should be no doubt that we can ill afford another failure like Copenhagen. In this regard, we believe that a comprehensive but balanced set of decisions at Cancun must comprise the following:
a. Decision to announce a new international climate fund alongside a decision for improving the governance and oversight of all climate finance.
b. A framework agreement on principles which shall guide our negotiations on mitigations between Mexico (16th Conference of Parties) and South Africa (17th Conference of Parties).
c. An agreement on establishing an Adaptation Mechanism.
d. A Conference of Parties (COP) decision on fast start funding, delineating modalities and channels of delivery of the $ US 30 billion.
e. An agreement on the Second Commitment period (2012- 2020) under Kyoto Protocol.
Madam Chair,
Pakistan and many other countries are extremely vulnerable to Climate Change. Pakistan, therefore, supports a new, comprehensive, science based approach to vulnerability covering physical, economic and climate related aspects. Such an approach, we believe, would allow for more effective and equitable allocation of resources.
Madam Chair,
Pakistan accords high priority to South-South cooperation. In this regard, the Nairobi Outcome Document of the Second UN Conference on South-South Cooperation should guide our common efforts to consolidate positive trends.
Madam Chair,
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that solutions for global problems demand open, inclusive and transparent processes. The UN, we believe, is the only institution that guarantees a universal setting and it should continue to play the central role in advancing the global agenda.
I thank you