A/RES/54/201 Page 4 12. Emphasizes the role of partnership and networking mechanisms for the integration of developing countries and countries with economies in transition into the world economy, in particular by strengthening national capacity-building, promoting market access across a large number of sectors and industries, disseminating new business and management cultures, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises, and expanding opportunities for them to leverage their own research and development activities; 13. Reaffirms the need to fulfil the commitments on the provision of financial resources and transfer of technology contained in chapter 34 of Agenda 21,5 the outcome of the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly and the Agenda for Development;6 14. Recognizes that, while applications of agricultural biotechnology in developing countries, if associated with the capacity to ensure their compatibility with human health and ecosystems, provide viable opportunities for improving productivity and increasing production capacity in the agricultural sector, a large number of developing countries have limited access to such technologies and face a number of impediments to their development of biotechnology; 15. Also recognizes the need for studying the impact of new biotechnologies on human health, the welfare and livelihood of the farmers, and poverty in developing countries; 16. Calls for safe biotechnology that will, inter alia, foster crop reproduction and enhance the development of developing countries; 17. Reaffirms that the substantive theme for the work of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development during the inter-sessional period 1999-2001 will be “National capacity-building in biotechnology”, with particular attention to agriculture and the agro-industry, health and the environment; the theme will include human resource development through basic science education, research and development, as well as their interdisciplinary aspects; the transfer, commercialization and diffusion of technology; increasing public awareness and participation in science policy-making; and bioethics, biosafety, biodiversity and the legal and regulatory matters affecting these issues to ensure equitable treatment; 18. Stresses the necessity of promoting linkages and partnership among public and private sectors and centres of excellence and networks in developed and developing countries and countries with economies in transition with the objective of strengthening national research capability and capacity in biotechnology in developing countries; 19. Also stresses the need to establish science and technology as a cross-cutting theme within the work of the United Nations, particularly through effective and better coordination, including of international cooperation in technology assessment, monitoring and forecasting, information and communication technologies, partnership and networking for innovative and new technologies, biotechnology and providing an environment conducive to the development of new environmentally sound technologies, and calls upon United Nations organizations, funds and programmes to work in a coordinated manner to develop a catalogue 5 Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigenda), vol. I: Resolutions adopted by the Conference, resolution 1, annex II. 6 Resolution 51/240, annex. /...