Role of UN in promoting development in the context of globalization and interdependence

Reaffirms that UN has a central role to play in promoting international cooperation for development and in providing guidance on global development issues; re-emphasizes the importance of recognizing the needs of developing countries and urges the international community, including the World Trade Organization, to continue to grant more preferential treatment to developing countries; welcomes the efforts of UNCTAD and the International Trade Centre to help developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, to address their specific concerns within the globalizing economy; emphasizes the importance of recognizing and addressing the specific concerns of countries with economic in transition; emphasizes that concerted efforts should be made to minimize the negative impacts and maximize the benefits of globalization and interdependence for the developing countries; strongly underlines the importance of an enabling environment for investment, in particular foreign direct investment, market access, good governance, increase in the volume and effectiveness of official development assistance, tackling of unsustainable debt burdens, including through debt conversion measures; recognizes the urgency of working together in developing a global approach to mitigate the negative consequences of globalization and interdependence; invites the Economic and Social Council and the Bretton Woods institutions, in their special high-level meeting in 1999, also to address ways and means of optimizing the benefits and minimizing the negative consequences of globalization and interdependence; requests the Secretary-General to prepare, in collaboration with UNCTA and in consultation with relevant organizations an analytical report that examines the interrelated issues in order to facilitate better understanding of globalization.

Adopted without vote, 91st meeting

4 p.

Adopted at the 91st plenary meeting, 15 Dec. 1998.