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Madame Chairperson and dear friend Her Excellency Dr. Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa,
Ministers,
Your Excellency Secretary General Kofi Annan,
Your Excellency UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour for me to be among you today. I am one of you, from the developing world. It is my first opportunity to speak to the largest group in this Organization, the Group of 77 and China.

I would like to pay tribute to the excellent manner in which South Africa, represented here by my dear friend Foreign Minister Zuma, has led the work of the Group during the past 9 months. The group has succeeded during this period in playing an essential role in the implementation of the World Summit Outcome Document of 2005. I am confident that this will continue during the main part of the 61st session. I count on the support of the Group, and all its members during the coming months, as well as on the support of your Excellency and my colleague Ambassador Kumalo, whose experience will be an asset for all of us.

Allow me also to congratulate H.E Mr. Khusro Bakhtya, Deputy Foreign Minister of Pakistan, for the election of his country for the upcoming Chairmanship of the Group. I am confident that the Group will continue to play an important role in the United Nations effectively and constructively under the leadership of Pakistan.

Dear Friends,

As I mentioned in my opening statement in the General Debate just a few days ago, striving to achieve tangible results in the implementation of the development goals, which is the theme of the our General Debate, is at the center of my presidency. Despite some achievements, we still have a long way before us. We need to work together soon on how best we can achieve this objective. There are many ideas, and I encourage you to use the opportunity of this meeting to put forward some actionable ones.

We need to build on the achievements we made in the areas of reform during the 60th session, in order to strengthen our Organization and its institutions, and enhance the effectiveness of the General Assembly.

Dear Friends,

I look forward to working with you on these matters upon the conclusion of the General Debate. Our aim should be to reinforce multilateralism and achieve a more effective cooperation between all Member States, developed and developing.

I thank you.