A/RES/54/233 Page 4 17. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General, contained in resolution 54/95 of 8 December 1999, to submit to the General Assembly, early in 2000, concrete proposals in order to enhance the functioning and utilization of the Central Emergency Revolving Fund, and, in this regard, invites the Secretary-General to consider more active use of the Fund for timely and adequate natural disaster response; 18. Invites the Secretary-General further to consider innovative means for timely and adequate natural disaster response, inter alia, through mobilization of additional resources from the private sector; 19. Invites the Economic and Social Council, at its substantive session of 2000, in the context of the follow-up to its agreed conclusions 1999/1,1 to consider ways to enhance further the effectiveness of international cooperation and coordination in respect of the provision of timely and adequate humanitarian assistance in response to natural disasters; 20. Invites the Secretary-General to continue to consider innovative mechanisms to improve the international response to natural disasters and other emergencies, inter alia, through addressing any geographical and sectoral imbalances in such a response where they exist, as well as more effective use of national emergency response agencies, taking into account their comparative advantages and specialization, as well as existing arrangements, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session under the item entitled “Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance” with a view, inter alia, to contributing towards the comprehensive report on the implementation of the international strategy for disaster reduction to be submitted to the Assembly at its fifty-sixth session under the item entitled “Environment and sustainable development”. 87th plenary meeting 22 December 1999