REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR VANU GOPALA MENON, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS AT THE INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS ON THE UPCOMING TORONTO G-20 SUMMIT, 14 JUNE 2010, ECOSOC CHAMBER (NLB)

REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR VANU GOPALA MENON, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SINGAPORE TO THE UNITED NATIONS AT THE INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS ON THE UPCOMING TORONTO G-20 SUMMIT, 14 JUNE 2010, ECOSOC CHAMBER (NLB)

Mr Assistant Secretary-General,

Let me first express my appreciation for your decision to hold this meeting. It is a useful opportunity for Member States to provide important inputs to the Secretariat and the Secretary-General, ahead of the G-20 Summit in Toronto. My delegation sees a need for this process to be systematic and predictable, in order to be of value to Member States and the Secretary-General. In this regard, let me add that this process of consultations with Member States should perhaps have started a bit earlier and with a bit more notice so that all of us could participate a bit more meaningfully and provide more substantive inputs. We hope that for future G-20 Summits, we can start this process of informal consultations much earlier.

2 As you know, the informal Global Governance Group (3G), of which Singapore is a member, has consistently argued that the G-20 must be consultative, inclusive and transparent in its deliberations. As laid out in the 3G paper, circulated as UN Document A/64/706 dated 11 March 2010, one important aspect of this is ensuring the full participation of the United Nations, through the Secretary-General and his Sherpa, in the G-20 Summits and preparatory meetings. I am therefore glad (and I think all members of the 3G feel the same way) that the Secretary-General will be participating in the upcoming G-20 Summit in Toronto. I am also heartened by the fact that the Secretary-General will be given a seat at the main table, together with the rest of the G-20 Leaders. His presence there, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the G-20 Leaders, demonstrates the United Nations' important role in the G-20, and our expectation that the UN be treated on par with any other G-20 participant.

3 This is especially important because not all UN Member States are part of the G-20. While the UNSG cannot represent our individual national positions, he can convey the broad sense of the UN membership. Hence, we are indeed heartened that Canada, as host of the Toronto Summit, recognized the importance of inviting the UN to the G-20 Summit. We are confident that the ROK, as the host of the next G-20 Summit, will also see the wisdom of doing so. In fact, I believe the UN's presence at the G-20 is so integral that this should not be left to individual hosts of future Summits to decide. Such an invitation to the Secretary-General and his Sherpa should be automatic and become a matter of course for all future G-20 Summits. If this could be formalized at the Toronto Summit, this would be an important confidence-building measure which would enhance trust between the G-20 and the United Nations.

4 Mr Assistant Secretary-General, I do not want to dwell on the many reasons why such confidence-building is important. Certainly, while the G-20 plays a role in catalyzing useful global actions, it should always bear in mind the fact that its actions and decisions have serious implications beyond its membership. For instance, the agenda for the Toronto G-20 Summit includes the issues of Financial Sector Reform, Stimulus Programs, and Global Trade and Growth. While some of these issues may not appear on the regular UN agenda, the exception being international trade, I think that we as Member States should take a broader perspective when looking for potential links between what the G-20 discusses and what the UN does. We should also consider whether decisions taken by the G-20 within these important spheres will have a serious impact on the international community. For example, Financial Sector Reform affects global liquidity and the availability of financing. All Member States, not just the G-20, would experience the consequences. We must thus remain watchful that whatever happens in Toronto does not undermine the developmental gains that Member States have made, especially in the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. In this regard, I was heartened by some of the key messages which the SG would be conveying to the G-20 Leaders in Toronto. The SG's overriding message - that much has been achieved but much more needs to be done to achieve comprehensive and inclusive growth - is a good one.

5 Before I conclude, I would like to briefly applaud Canada's initiative to focus on maternal health at the G8 Summit in Toronto. The slow progress in achieving MDG 3 is a matter of serious concern and a strong commitment from the G8 Leaders would be a welcome contribution in this regard.

Thank you, Mr Assistant Secretary-General.