Madam Maria Luiza Viotti,
Under-Secretary-General Liu Zhenmin,
Distinguished guests, colleagues,
Dear friends,

Good morning! We are delighted to co-organize this workshop with the Secretariat to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund (UNPDF).

This is a good opportunity for us to review the achievements and experience of the Fund of the past five years, and discuss its development in the future. We welcome all the representatives from member states and UN agencies.

The Fund was announced by President Xi Jinping at the summit commemorating the 70th anniversary of the UN. It's the first time that China establishes a trust fund to support the work of the UN. It has then become a new platform for China-UN cooperation.

With China and the Secretariat working together over the past five years, the Fund has made good progress and contributed to international peace, security and development.

First, the Fund is a strong platform in promoting multilateralism.

The UN is the most universal, representative and authoritative intergovernmental organization in the world, and the most important platform for the practice of multilateralism.

The Chinese government has contributed a total of 100 million US dollars to the Fund since 2015. This shows China's political commitment and continuous support to the UN.

With close cooperation between China and the UN, the Fund has given support to 95 projects in areas of peace and security and development, benefiting more than 100 countries and regions in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania. The UN's central role and leadership has been consolidated.

Second, the Fund has strongly supported the UN in carrying out its mandates.

The projects of the Fund have been focusing on peacekeeping, preventive diplomacy, counter-terrorism, poverty reduction, refugees and migration, and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, etc. The Fund has therefore enriched UN agencies' toolkit to support member states and contributed to the implementation of major initiatives of the UN.

Let me share with you some examples:

- The Project of Promoting the Safety and Security of UN Peacekeepers issued a report with recommendations and initiated follow-up actions for the UN to strengthen the security of peacekeepers.

- The Project of Peacekeeping Capacity Building has conducted training for more than 3,000 military and police peacekeeping personnel.

- The MINUSMA Project has trained more than 1,800 community leaders, women and youth in Mali.

- The Afghan Youth Refugees Survival Ability Project has benefited more than 2,000 refugees.

All these projects have boosted international cooperation in relevant areas.

Third, the Fund has contributed to peace, security and development in Africa.

China and Africa enjoy traditional friendship. Promoting peace and development in Africa is a priority of China's foreign policy. The Fund has always focused on peace and development in Africa.

The Rapid Response System Project has given support to 21 UN mediation missions, 53% of which are in Africa. It has also supported 10 projects directly related to peace and security in Africa, covering all sub-regions of the continent. These projects further contributed to closer cooperation between the UN and the African Union.

The Fund also helped LDCs in Africa in economic transitions, promoting development, obtaining renewable energy, and accelerating green industrialization and socioeconomic development.

Fourth, the Fund has promoted the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The 2030 Agenda is UN's key priority in promoting sustainable development. China attaches great importance to the SDG and has made relentless efforts in carrying out its implementation, including promoting cooperation in the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by China, which is playing an important role in promoting the implementation of the SDGs.

With the Fund's support, China's Juncao technology (mushroom and grass) is transferred to more than 100 countries. It has helped local vulnerable populations, including women and persons with disabilities, improve livelihoods. At the same time, it is also a good way to prevent soil erosion and environmental degradation.

The Fund has also facilitated national dialogue and training regarding the Sustainable Development Agenda, helping to build capacity in developing countries.

Dear colleagues, friends,

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the UN and the 5th anniversary of the Fund. President Xi Jinping announced during the high-level week that the Fund will be extended for another five years after its expiration in 2025. We highly appreciate the support given to the Fund.

This is the first time that the donor, the managers, the participants and beneficiaries of the Fund get together. On behalf of the Permanent Mission of China, I would like to express heartfelt appreciation to you all for your valuable contribution to the workshop. I also wish to thank the various departments and agencies of the Secretariat for the strong support.

The workshop is indeed a meaningful and productive one. We do wish to learn fresh thoughts and ideas from this discussion. From your positive feedback, enlightening thoughts and forward-looking expectations, I can see your enthusiasm for the Fund. There is so much that we can do together.

At the general debate of the 75th Session of the General Assembly, President Xi Jinping said that China will continue to work as a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order.

We will continue to provide strong support to the fund, in order to strengthen the UN's central role in maintaining peace, promoting development and safeguarding multilateralism.

As an old Chinese saying goes, when people are of one mind, they can move Mount Tai. Just as an old African proverb says, "Many hands make light work". As long as we stay united, there is nothing we cannot achieve.

We will work together with the management teams of the Fund and continue to improve the quality and effectiveness of projects, strengthen comprehensive budgetary performance management, and optimize the operation of the Fund.

We will work closely with all partners in addressing the challenges they confront, in particular fighting against the COVID-19, mitigating the negative impact of the pandemic, supporting their economic recovery and implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

We will seriously look at all the advice and recommendations, to come up with more and better projects and improve the relevance so as to better meet the requirements and needs of partners. We will make further efforts to strengthen South-South cooperation, enhance information and experience sharing through the Fund.

China welcomes the launch of the project of the Synthesis Report of the Fund for the last five years. We stand ready to continue the joint efforts for even greater achievements of the Fund.

We are still at the starting point for a long journey. However, we have full confidence in the future of the Fund. For our shared future, we need to join hands and work together.

Thank you!