13 April 2012, Geneva

The Group of 77 and China, represented by Ambassador Pisanu Chanvitan of Thailand, delivered a statement to the Preparatory Committee for UNCTAD XIII highlighting the impasse in the negotiations due to the positions of developed countries that in essence sought to weaken UNCTAD. The statement stressed the Group of 77 and China’s willingness and flexibility in order to achieve a consensual outcome document, and indicated that the Group sought the reaffirmation of the UNCTAD XII Accra Accord and then build upon it, with the “distilled” text produced by the President of the Preparatory Committee on 4 April 2012 as the minimum.