United Nations A/RES/58/200 General Assembly Distr.: General 30 January 2004 Fifty-eighth session Agenda item 91 (b) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 23 December 2003 [on the report of the Second Committee (A/58/481/Add.2)] 58/200. Science and technology for development The General Assembly, Recognizing the role that international cooperation on science and technology can play in addressing the technological gap and the digital divide between the North and the South, Recognizing also the importance of North-South as well as South-South cooperation in the field of science and technology, Recognizing further the vital role of new and emerging technologies in raising the productivity and competitiveness of nations and the need, inter alia, for capacity-building, measures promoting the transfer and diffusion of technologies to developing countries, and the promotion of private sector activities and public awareness of science and technology, Reaffirming the need to enhance the science and technology activities of the organizations of the United Nations system and the role of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development in providing policy guidance, in particular on issues of relevance to developing countries, Recognizing the role of information and communication technologies in promoting development as an important step towards addressing the challenges of bridging the digital divide, and in this regard welcoming the convening of the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, held in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003, and its second phase, to be held in Tunis from 16 to 18 November 2005, Welcoming the Commission’s selection of the substantive theme “Promoting the application of science and technology to meet the development goals contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration”, for its work during the intersessional period 2003-2004, as welcomed by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 2003/56 of 24 July 2003, Noting with appreciation the Commission’s work during its intersessional period 2001-2003 on its theme “Technology development and capacity-building for competitiveness in a digital society”, in particular the information and communication technologies development indices, which serve as an important contribution to the preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society, 03 50658