Foreign Minister Riyad Malki welcomed on Wednesday a vote at the United Nations General Assembly that gave the State of Palestine more powers to perform its duties as the next Chair of the Group of 77 plus China.

He thanked Egypt, the current Chair, and the states that supported an Egyptian draft resolution on this matter for making this possible.

Malki said that Palestine would work very hard to unite world efforts as well as regional and international groups to serve humanity, thus contributing to the reduction of all negative phenomena that impede the rights of peoples and deprive them and their countries of progress and growth.

He pointed to the interest of the Palestinian leadership, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, in the Group of 77 and its importance in the international community as the largest group in the United Nations and which negotiates over 80% of the issues of common international concern that are on the UN agenda.

He stressed that the State of Palestine, as the next Chair of the Group of 77 and China, considers that the international consensus on granting it confidence and voting in favor of raising its status at the UN to serve the interest of the Group of 77 is a challenge that will be turned into opportunities for the benefit of the members of the Group and the world.

Malki said that Palestine is ready to engage in good intentions with all countries and groups for a better future for the universe and to discuss all humanitarian issues of concern to societies and peoples, including the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

He stressed that the State of Palestine is capable of advancing and strengthening the UN agenda with Palestinian  expertise and capacities in environmental, developmental and economic issues.

The United Nations General Assembly voted on Wednesday in favor of the Egyptian draft resolution that gave “the State of Palestine the rights and capacity required to be able to perform the functions and the usual practices undertaken by the Chair of G77 in the General Assembly, other organs, entities and certain Conferences for the duration of its chairmanship of the G77 in the year 2019, thus enabling its effective chairmanship and the continuity of the positive role played by the Group within the UN system.”

In introducing the draft resolution a/73/l.5 entitled "chair of the group of 77 for 2019" on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, Egypt’s permanent representative to the UN and Chair of the Group of 77 and China, Mohamed Edrees, said that since on 27 September 2018, the Group of 77 elected the State of Palestine as Chair for the year 2019, following the Asia-Pacific Group's endorsement of its candidature in November 2017, and “while the State of Palestine has been a full-fledged member of the Group of 77 since January 1976, Palestine remains a non-member observer State of the UN. Therefore, the rights and privileges enjoyed by the State of Palestine vary from one UN organ to the other, based on the respective rules of procedure, resolutions adopted by these organs and their established practice.”

He added: “In that context, following consultations with the UN secretariat, it is the assessment that a General Assembly resolution would be required to avail the State of Palestine the rights and capacity required to be able to perform the functions and the usual practices undertaken by the Chair of G77 in the General Assembly, other organs, entities and certain Conferences for the duration of its chairmanship of the G77 in the year 2019, thus enabling its effective chairmanship and the continuity of the positive role played by the Group within the UN system.”

“The adoption of this draft,” he stressed, “which we consider technical and procedural in nature, will enable the next Chair of the Group to effectively fulfill his duties and responsibilities towards the Group as well as the wider membership during the year 2019, without prejudice to the existing rights and privileges of the State of Palestine, as per the relevant resolutions.”