Opening remarks by Dmitry Chumakov, Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, at the ECOSOC FFD
Mm. President of the ECOSOC,
Mr. Under-Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
The coronavirus pandemic threatens to reverse progress on a number of development tracks, challenging the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
We have yet to assess the true extent and impact of the pandemic on global socio-economic development; although the main negative consequences are already clear – shrunken national economies, significantly decreased production and consumption, lost jobs and livelihoods. It is obvious that these problems are of a cross-border nature, and therefore the search for solutions to stabilize the situation within a particular country would fail not only to redress the global situation, but also to hedge the risk of same threats arising in the future.
Thereby it is necessary to join the efforts of the world community to provide relief to the states which are most in need and take measures to increase their funding through emergency support mechanisms. Such assistance should be made in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner. This is not the time to make the developing countries face any new criteria for receiving help such as how “green” their policies look to donors’ eyes. The key priority is to ensure that all can enjoy food security, access to affordable and reliable energy, water availability, healthcare and other basic services now. It is vital for surviving the pandemic and speedy economic recovery. We hope that the leading shareholders of the IMF and the World Bank as well as the UN development system would be able to take a pragmatic and responsible approach when deciding about the emergency financial assistance to specific countries in need.
Of particular importance is the issue of maintaining a sustainable level of debt. To this effect it is necessary to reconsider restrictions on the access of sovereign borrowers to world capital markets and consolidate measures to refinance urgent debt repayment subject to the balance of interest of borrower and creditor countries. The main goals on this track are to preserve the international financial system stability and to minimize the risks of a new debt crisis.
We oppose the practice of unilateral illegitimate politically motivated restrictive measures by individual countries, which are increasingly becoming extraterritorial, blocking access to financial resources and advanced technologies, including in healthcare. We consider it unacceptable and inconsistent with international development assistance commitments to pursue such a policy in the context of the fight against the coronavirus and growing global economy crisis.
We call for the utmost coordinated actions to combat illegal financial flows with the use of all available mechanisms. It is necessary to strengthen measures in the field of credit and financial as well as tax control, build more effective mechanisms for the implementation of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters related to the investigation of illegal financial transactions, and strengthen control over operations with cash or other property.
These threats have a devastating effect on the economic and investment potential of states, undermining the efforts of the world community to create favorable conditions for development. Despite the reduced number of channels to finance terrorist organizations due to the suspension of transport links between countries during the coronavirus period, it is more probable that terrorists and their accomplices are actively trying to use alternative ways to get financial support, in particular, money transfer and cryptocurrency services.
We should never forget about the necessity to support the remittances of the labor migrants, since the restrictions on bank transfers entailed by the pandemic may seriously prejudice the economies of developing countries with low and average income. It is of great importance to provide conditions to facilitate the access of migrant workers to financial services and simplify the procedures related to them.
The current pandemic not just poses serious challenges before us; it also opens up opportunities for closer and more constructive cooperation in the interest of restoring global economic growth and supporting market stability. In this regard, we are ready for an open and transparent dialogue to look for effective solutions to overcome the crisis.
Thank you.
