Secretary Locsin Highlights a Refocus on Building a Healthy, more Resilient Country at UN Meeting of Middle-Income Countries

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. stressed at the UN High Level Meeting on Middle-Income Countries held on 02 July 2021 at the UN Headquarters in New York that middle-income countries must not be left behind if the global economy is to really recover from the havoc of the pandemic.(Photo from NYPM)

UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK 05 July 2021– Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. highlighted through a virtual message the importance of a refocus on building a healthy and more resilient country, mentioning such a refocus as among the COVID-19 response and recovery strategies of the Philippines, during the UN High Level Meeting on Middle-Income Countries (MICs) held on 2 July 2021 at the UN Headquarters in New York

The other strategies that the Secretary noted include the recalibration of the Philippine Development Plan to address structural constraints uncovered by the unprecedented stress, as well as raising the level of ambition to meet the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) despite the added difficulties.

Secretary Locsin stressed the need to ensure that the concerns of middle-income countries like the Philippines are addressed by the UN Development System and its reforms. He called for a transformational and inclusive model of development cooperation and financing to assist middle income countries to attain the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development. The said model does not use per capita income as the sole basis for measuring poverty and providing assistance, thus allowing middle-income countries access to programs and funds where they are currently excluded, yet such an access is  crucial for their recovery. In this regard, the Secretary reaffirmed the Philippines’ support for the multidimensional poverty index (MPI).

Secretary Locsin recalled the Philippines being one of the pioneers that urged the UN to address the challenges of middle-income countries and stated, “at the UN General Assembly last year, I announced that my country was on track to be an Upper Middle- Income Country. Then, COVID hit us, as it did the rest of the world, sparing no one.” He continued saying “it aggravated existing challenges and generated new vulnerabilities,” and “put a dent on our precious gains in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals” and “strained our health system.”

The Secretary also outlined the measures undertaken to safely re-open the economy while addressing COVID-19 and its graver challenges of exacerbated hunger, the exponential spread of poverty, and worse unemployment.

“For national strategies to succeed, it is best if they are complemented by the United Nations and the multilateral system,” Secretary Locsin stressed.

The High-Level Meeting on Middle-Income Countries is held pursuant to General Assembly Resolution A/RES/74/231 entitled “Development Cooperation with on Middle- Income Countries.” The Philippines, together with El Salvador, drafted and co- coordinated the subject MICs resolution on behalf of the Group of 77 and China in 2019. The meeting brought together key players to discuss the gaps and challenges of middle- income countries in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, with a focus on the economic dimension of sustainable development, and needed international support for their COVID- 19 response and recovery efforts.

The Philippines is an active member of the Like-Minded Group of Countries Supporters of Middle-Income Countries in the United Nations in New York and was the Chair of the Group in 2019-2020. END

For more information, visit https://www.un.int/philippines/ and https://www.facebook.com/PHMissionNY/