UN General Assembly
1997

countries have intensified cooperation at the regional and subregional levels to stem this trend. We welcome the growing cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in the fulfilment of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, and the renewed commitment to conflict resolution through preventive diplomacy, peacekeeping and peace-building. “In the economic sphere, recent conscientious efforts have resulted in the registration of positive signs in the revitalization of the global economy. This progressive trend has been taking place against the backdrop of explosive growth in world trade and private investment flows. In the meantime, developing countries have thus far contributed 70 per cent of the growth in global gross domestic product and half of the growth in world trade. Notwithstanding this, the gap between developed and developing countries continues to grow, leaving many countries behind amidst the general positive economic progress occurring in the world. More importantly, official development assistance required to fill the gap in resource depletion has fallen to its lowest point in real terms during the past 23 years, thereby forcing many of the world’s poorest