Permanent Mission of India
New York
--

49^th Annual Meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77

"Strengthening multilateralism for sustainable development: advancing the priorities of the Global South in the context of the 80^th anniversary of the United Nations"

Statement by Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West)
4 September 2025

Excellencies, Distinguished Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. I thank the Honourable Foreign Minister of Iraq for hosting this meeting and for guiding our deliberations under the timely theme: “Strengthening multilateralism for sustainable development: advancing the priorities of the Global South in the context of the 80th anniversary of the United Nations.

Excellencies,

2. The G77 has always been the collective conscience of the developing world. As we commemorate the UN’s 80th anniversary this year, it is clear that multilateralism must be revitalised to deliver on development, equity and sustainability. The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville underscored this imperative. The Sevilla Commitment and Sevilla Platform for Action pledged to reform the international financial architecture, scale up multilateral development bank lending, strengthen debt sustainability, mobilise $500 billion in private investment by 2027, and double support for domestic resource mobilisation. These outcomes must be implemented with urgency, ensuring that the needs of the Global South are at the centre.

3. India has consistently worked to amplify these priorities. Through the Voice of the Global South Summit, convened with participation from over 125 countries, India brought forward the perspectives of developing nations to global platforms, including the G20, where we were able to place advanced development financing as a core agenda and permanent membership for the African Union became a reality.

4. India’s partnerships with fellow G77 members reflect this spirit of solidarity. The India-UN Development Partnership Fund supports demand-driven projects across LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS. The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme has trained thousands of professionals from the Global South in governance, digital technologies, climate resilience, and sustainable development.

Excellencies,

5. As we begin work on the UN80 Initiative, India considers that this exercise must be ambitious and introduce system-wide comprehensive reforms that go beyond achieving just financial efficiency. It must transform the Organisation to reflect contemporary realities, both in functions and structures. The UN80 Initiative offers a timely opportunity to ensure that decision-making structures are representative and responsive to current and future challenges. Further, it must strengthen system-wide coherence, coordination and wherever possible consolidation of entities and programmes without undermining the implementation of mandates.

6. At the same time, we also have an opportunity before us to reform our own functioning as a group. Last year, we agreed to establish an open-ended working group to study possible ways and means to strengthen the G-77 and its Secretariat and we hope that by the time we meet next year, we will see concrete progress on operationalising this working group. It is also essential for the G77 to go back to its core focus and founding objective of advancing the development goals of the Global South. We must not shift focus away from this objective.

Excellencies,

7. India reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the G77. Together, let us seize this 80th anniversary of the United Nations to reinvigorate multilateralism, translate the promises of Seville into action, and ensure that the priorities of the Global South define the future of international cooperation and a United Nations that is fit for purpose and the times to come.

Thank you.

***