Intervention by H.E. Mr. Vitavas Srivihok,

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the UN

at the Joint Briefing of the Presidents of the General Assembly and ECOSOC

Wednesday, 26 January 2021, 15.00-18.00 hrs., General Assembly Hall 

Distinguished Presidents, 

Thailand aligns itself with the statement made by Guinea on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

Thailand joins others in expressing our appreciation for the updates on the important processes to take place this year.

At this juncture, it is more important than ever that the United Nations act as one. We must synergize joint efforts in recovering from the COVID-19 through multilateralism and emerge from this crisis in a better position to achieve the 2030 Agenda. It is crucial for the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council to work together to accelerate progress in addressing other pressing global challenges in parallel with recovery.

Excellencies,

Thailand commends the GA and the ECOSOC for their prompt response to ensure the continuity of our work from the beginning of the pandemic. It is now time for the UN to provide necessary guidance and support to the Member States for sustainable recovery and building resilience in light of future crises.

The alignment process and the review of the ECOSOC and the HLPF will both be crucial opportunities to explore how the two bodies can be enhanced in order to support Member States recover better and in line with the 2030 Agenda. 

Thailand looks forward to the commencement of this year’s alignment process this Friday, which will build the efficiency of the UN’s work towards the timely achievement of the Goals.

We support strengthening the HLPF deliberations to leverage synergies and minimize trade-offs among the SDGs, to accelerate implementation. 

We also support exploring establishing a follow-up mechanism to the VNR exercise to provide country-specific feedback, on a voluntary basis.

On Financing for Development, the focus should continue to be on the response and recovery from the economic and financial impacts of COVID-19, building on the outcome achieved last year.  We stress the need for a global commitment to a trade-and investment-friendly environment and for an open multilateral trading system, while looking at international financial institutions to ensure global economic recovery, providing assistance to the most vulnerable countries.    

Finally, as member of the ECOSOC, Thailand looks forward to engaging actively in these upcoming processes, including through the presentation of our 2^nd VNR. We reiterate our commitment to constructively work with both the GA and the ECOSOC towards a sustainable, inclusive and resilient recovery from COVID-19.

Thank you.