A/75/PV.53 General Assembly

Before proceeding to the items on our agenda, I would like, in keeping with established practice, to draw the attention of the General Assembly to document A/75/661/Add.2, in which the Secretary- General informs the President of the General Assembly that, since the issuance of his communication contained in document A/75/661/Add.1, South Sudan has made the payment necessary to reduce its arrears below the amount specified in Article 19 of the Charter. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of the information contained in document A/75/661/ Add.2?

I now give the floor to the representative of Guinea to introduce draft resolution A/75/L.57.

I am pleased to introduce draft resolution A/75/L.57, entitled “Extension of the preparatory period preceding the graduation of Angola from the least developed country category”. The extraordinary challenges and shocks throughout the global system brought about by the coronavirus disease pandemic have exacerbated the development challenges facing least developed countries (LDCs) and reversed many years of hard- earned development progress, leading to potential long- lasting damage. The focus of the Group of 77 and China has been to draw the attention of the international community to the most vulnerable and furthest behind in our efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The LDC category has assumed its highest level of relevance since its creation in 1971. Following the graduation of Vanuatu in December 2020, 11 additional LDCs are on track to graduation. While we have come closer to achieving the objectives of the previous two meetings of the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries and the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020, we are nowhere near the overarching goal of seeing half of the LDCs graduate within the decade. The level of ambition must not change, but, rather, it is the perception of graduation that would benefit from a shift. The graduation of LDCs is not an end in and of itself, but an important milestone in a country’s journey towards sustainable development, resilience and self-reliance. We must recognize that countries must be enabled to graduate on a sure footing with strong national ownership and confidence to make graduation smooth and irreversible. We thank all partners for their support and cooperation with regard to the draft resolution extending Angola’s preparatory period by an additional three years before its effective graduation from the LDC category.

I now call on the representative of Costa Rica on a point of order

Costa Rica wishes to become a sponsor of draft resolution A/75/L.57.

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/75/L.57. May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to adopt draft resolution A/75/L.57?

Before giving the floor to speakers in explanation of position on the resolution just adopted, may I remind delegations that explanations are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats.

The United States is pleased to join the consensus on resolution 75/259. We reiterate the importance of our relationship with Angola and understand the devastating and ongoing impact that the coronavirus disease pandemic and the country’s multi-year recession has had on its economy. We look forward to working with the international community on ways to strengthen a sustainable economic recovery for Angola and other least developed countries during these difficult times.

I now give the floor to the observer of the European Union.

I have the honour to deliver the statement on behalf of the European Union and its States members. We thank the facilitator, Mrs. Sibella Stern, of Australia for her very effective and constructive role in conducting the negotiations on resolution 75/259. The European Union and its States members are pleased to join the consensus today on the resolution on the extension of the preparatory period preceding the graduation of Angola from the least developed country (LDC) category. Our support is based on the reasons presented by Angola, that is, the effects of a protracted six-year economic recession and the impact of the global coronavirus disease crisis, which has had particularly detrimental consequences for LDCs. We are aware of the particular challenges that Angola faces in the context of its graduation from LDC status, notably the diversification of its economy and the reduction of inequalities. We acknowledge and fully support Angola’s intention to review and update its national development strategy and look forward to a successful graduation in 2024. We also trust that the United Nations system will actively support Angola’s work on its national smooth transition strategy, and we welcome the language included in the resolution in that regard. The objective of a successful and sustainable development process is shared by the international community, which sees graduation as an achievement on the road towards fulfilling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The European Union will continue to support Angola on its journey to graduation and beyond from a sustainable development and trade perspective and by maintaining a close political dialogue.

We have heard the last speaker for this item. The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 9.