A/RES/53/188 Page 2 since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in all main areas of Agenda 21 and other outcomes of the Conference, and recommendations on the future methods of work of the Commission on Sustainable Development and the programme of work of the Commission for the period 1998–2002, Recognizing also that mutually supportive efforts at the national and international levels are needed in the pursuit of sustainable development and that the gap between developed and developing countries points to the continuing need for a dynamic and enabling international economic environment supportive of international cooperation, particularly in the fields of finance, technology transfer, debt and trade, if the momentum for global progress towards sustainable development is to be maintained and increased, Noting with concern that, during the assessment and review of progress made at its nineteenth special session, the General Assembly concluded that although some progress had been made, especially at the local level, the overall trends with respect to the global environment had not improved, and emphasizing that the implementation of Agenda 21 in a comprehensive manner remains vitally important and is now more urgent than ever, Noting the convening of the first meeting of the Assembly of the Global Environment Facility at New Delhi from 1 to 3 April 1998 and the conclusion of the negotiations on the second replenishment of the Facility, Noting also that the next review of the implementation of Agenda 21 is scheduled to be carried out by the General Assembly in 2002, 1. Stresses the need to accelerate the full implementation of Agenda 211 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21;2 2. Recognizes that the Commission on Sustainable Development, within its mandate as specified in General Assembly resolution 47/191 of 22 December 1992 and in the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, will continue to provide the central forum for reviewing progress and for urging further implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and other commitments made at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development or as a result of it, for conducting a high-level policy debate aimed at consensus-building on sustainable development and for catalyzing action and long-term commitment on sustainable development at all levels; 3. Calls upon the Commission on Sustainable Development to continue to undertake these tasks in complementing and providing interlinkages to the work of other United Nations organs, organizations and bodies active in the field of sustainable development, to play its role in assessing the challenges of globalization as they relate to sustainable development and to perform its functions in coordination with other subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council and with related organizations and institutions, including making recommendations, within its mandate, to the Council, bearing in mind the interrelated outcomes of recent United Nations conferences; 4. Emphasizes that the achievement of more substantive results by the next review of the implementation of Agenda 21 in 2002 will require concerted efforts at all levels, including by Governments, calls upon all countries to fulfil their commitments to Agenda 21, and in this context also calls upon developed countries to fulfil the commitments they have undertaken with respect to financial resources and the transfer of environmentally sound technology; /...