A/RES/56/44 2. Takes note of the Dushanbe communiqué, issued at the eleventh meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the States members of the Economic Cooperation Organization, held on 4 May 2001, in which the States members reiterated their common aspirations and resolve for a prosperous region of the Economic Cooperation Organization; 3. Stresses the importance of cooperation between the United Nations system and the Economic Cooperation Organization to address the challenges and opportunities of globalization in the region of the Economic Cooperation Organization by promoting the integration of States members of the Economic Cooperation Organization, as appropriate, into the world economy, particularly in areas of concern to States members of the Economic Cooperation Organization, inter alia, trade, finance and transfer of technology; 4. Notes the holding in Islamabad on 8 November 2000 of a ministerial-level meeting on energy and petroleum, which, inter alia, resulted in a joint statement and the adoption of a plan of action for energy/petroleum cooperation in the region of the Economic Cooperation Organization for 2001– 2005; 5. Notes with satisfaction the ongoing cooperation between the United Nations Development Programme and the Economic Cooperation Organization through the implementation of the capacity-building project of the secretariat of the Economic Cooperation Organization, and welcomes the decision of the two institutions to expand the scope of existing cooperation in priority areas of the Economic Cooperation Organization; 6. Notes the concern of the Economic Cooperation Organization with respect to agriculture, industry and the health sector in the region, and appreciates the due cognizance taken by the organization of the development of the region, and in this regard welcomes the fact that the Economic Cooperation Organization decided to hold a ministerial meeting on agriculture in Islamabad in October 2001; 7. Welcomes the signing in March 2001 of a memorandum of understanding between the Economic Cooperation Organization and the International Trade Centre, expresses its confidence that their mutual cooperation will add impetus to the ongoing trade transactions among States members of the Economic Cooperation Organization, and notes with appreciation the successful implementation of the ongoing project of the Economic Cooperation Organization and the International Trade Centre on expanding intraregional trade; 8. Notes with satisfaction the increasing cooperation between the Economic Cooperation Organization and the World Trade Organization, including the fact that the latter has accorded observer status to the former, and the increasing involvement of the Economic Cooperation Organization in relevant forums and ministerial conferences of the World Trade Organization, and appreciates the holding in Bishkek in 2002 of a joint Economic Cooperation Organization and World Trade Organization seminar on regionalism; 9. Welcomes the growing cooperation between the Economic Cooperation Organization and relevant international financial institutions in regard to financial assistance extended by them in the fields of transport, trade, energy, agriculture and privatization, particularly by the Islamic Development Bank in the joint projects of the Economic Cooperation Organization, the Islamic Development Bank, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on the introduction of multimodal transport 2