A/RES/53/175 Page 3 development of the developing countries, in accordance with the relevant General Assembly resolutions and recent United Nations conferences, 1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the debt situation of the developing countries as of mid-1998;3 2. Recognizes that effective, equitable, development-oriented and durable solutions to the external debt and debt-servicing problems of developing countries can contribute substantially to the strengthening of the global economy and to the efforts of developing countries to achieve sustained economic growth and sustainable development, in accordance with the relevant General Assembly resolutions and recent United Nations conferences; 3. Notes that further progress, including swift implementation of innovative approaches and concrete measures, is essential for contributing to effective, equitable, development-oriented and durable solutions to the external debt and debt-servicing problems of developing countries, particularly the poorest and heavily indebted countries; 4. Also notes, while recognizing the benefits of liberalization of international capital flows, the adverse impact of the volatility of short-term capital flows on exchange rates, interest rates and the debt situation of developing countries, and stresses the need for coherence in implementing policies as well as capital accounts liberalization in an orderly, gradual and well-sequenced manner to keep pace with the strengthening of the ability of countries to sustain its consequences, in order to mitigate the adverse impact of such volatility; 5. Urges the international community to consider voluntary measures and mechanisms, involving private creditors and taking into account existing frameworks, that would allow debtor countries breathing space through, inter alia, mutually agreed temporary suspension of payments while maintaining their access to interim financing, and, in this regard, welcomes the willingness of the International Monetary Fund to consider providing financing to members in arrears on their debt payments to some private creditors; 6. Stresses the urgent need to endow the International Monetary Fund with adequate resources to provide emergency financing to countries affected by financial crises as a result, inter alia, of the high volatilities of international capital flows and that continue to pursue a programme of economic stabilization and reform; 7. Also stresses the need for the Bretton Woods institutions to consider fully, when providing emergency financing, the special economic situations of indebted developing countries affected by natural disasters; 8. Welcomes the decisions announced by various creditor countries to cancel, partially or totally, the official bilateral debt of the countries of Central America that were most adversely hit by hurricane Mitch, as well as the decisions by donor countries to help reduce debt owed to multilateral institutions, while recognizing the need to ensure that adequate resources are still directed towards relief and 3 A/53/373. /...