His Excellency Ambassador Martin Sajdik,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my honor to open and co-chair together with Amb. Sajdik the special General Assembly joint meeting of the GA Second Committee and ECOSOC on the theme “Lessons learned from debt crises and the ongoing work on sovereign debt restructuring and debt resolution mechanisms”. Allow me to express my sincere gratitude towards UNCTAD and UN DESA for their help in making today’s event possible, as well as a warm thank you and welcome to all the speakers who have accepted our invitation for today.
As you are aware, the current session of the Second Committee is undoubtedly of a special nature as we are about to embark on a new era of development. The timing of this session offers us a unique opportunity to contribute and enrich the debate on attaining sustainable development in all its dimensions. We enter this session once again confronted with formidable global challenges. We have the last chance to make a final push to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the opportunity for a significant contribution to the formulation of the new agenda. The Second Committee is well placed to do that, as is ECOSOC. Its broad agenda covers most of the key issues that are central to the development of societies.
Amongst these issues, the challenge of preventing and managing sovereign debt crises has taken on a new urgency in the wake of the recent global financial crisis. The problem of excessive sovereign debt is a global phenomenon which affects international economic, political and financial stability.
In order to address ongoing concerns around the management of debt restructuring, various international fora including the IMF, UNCTAD, UN, the Commonwealth Secretariat, NGOs, think tanks, as well as the academic circle have been organizing meetings and conducting research to explore the feasibility and configuration of a potential debt workout mechanism.
Given their broad agenda and participation, I believe that the Second Committee and Ecosoc are well placed to contribute to this discussion in a very factual manner as we will be doing today. Various General Assembly resolutions on debt have called for intensification of efforts to prevent debt crises, highlighting the need of improving efficiency and co-ordination in debt restructuring at the international level.
There are valuable lessons to be learnt from the debt crises. The dialogues at the international level will contribute towards making a difference towards ensuring effectiveness in dealing with sovereign debt crises, defaults and disputes in the future.
Ladies and gentlemen, in closing let me further emphasize the importance of a timely, effective, comprehensive and durable solution to sovereign debt problems of all countries. Inclusive, transparent and factual discussions amongst all stakeholders on this critical issue are paramount to arrive at an effective solution and foster inclusive economic growth and development.
Thank you and I do look forward to today’s debate.
