Statement of the Group of 77 and China during the IAEA Informal Programme and Budget Committee Meeting, on 2 February 2017, delivered by Mr. Suhel Khan, Deputy Chief of Mission, Permanent Mission of India
Mr. Chairman,
1. The Group of 77 and China wishes to thank the Secretariat for issuing the Agency’s Draft Programme and Budget 2018–2019. The fact that this Draft has been presented fairly early, especially both Part 1 and Part 2, is a welcome move and it will surely facilitate an early start of discussion and hopefully timely completion.
Mr. Chairman,
2. The Group has taken note of the Draft Programme and Budget and is studying it carefully. The Group will engage meaningfully in the budget discussions, both under the informal PBC format as well as under the Working Group format. The Group would like to extend its full support to Governor and Ambassador of Brazil, HE Mr Marcel Fortuna Biato, and the Governor and Ambassador of Denmark, HE Ms Liselotte Kjærsgaard Plesner for their co-chairmanship of the Working Group on the Regular Budget and TCF targets for 2018–2019.
3. While the Group is studying the document, it would like to take this opportunity to reiterate its principled position with regard to the Regular Budget, which calls for a balanced distribution of the budget so as to reflect the equal importance of the promotional and non-promotional activities of the Agency with special emphasis on the contribution of the Agency towards achievement of the SDGs by the Member States. The Group would also like to highlight the Board’s request to the Secretariat, as contained in GOV/2016/29, to place the appropriate emphasis on the activities directly related to the implementation of the SDGs during the preparation of the Programme and Budget Proposal for 2018-2019. In this context, the Group emphasizes the need for sufficient, assured and predictable resources to achieve this objective. The Group will offer its substantial comments during subsequent meetings.
