A/RES/51/197 Page 6 13. Reiterates its recognition of the effective participation of the Secretary-General and his representatives and encourages them to continue to take all necessary steps to ensure the successful implementation of all the commitments made by the parties to the Peace Agreement in El Salvador; 14. Recognizes the achievements made by the people and Government of Nicaragua in their efforts to consolidate peace, democracy and reconciliation among Nicaraguans, as well as the importance of political, economic and social consultation among all sectors of the country, so as to continue with the country's reconstruction, the renegotiation and reduction of the external debt, as well as the economic recovery and social development of the country; 15. Welcomes with satisfaction the peaceful electoral process held in Nicaragua on 20 October 1996, and its importance as a further step towards the strengthening of democracy, peace, development and reconstruction in that country; 16. Supports the treatment accorded to Nicaragua in the light of its continuing exceptional circumstances, so that the international community and financial institutions can incorporate that treatment into programmes to support the country's economic recovery and social reconstruction; 17. Expresses its appreciation of the work of the support group for Nicaragua (Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden), which, under the coordination of the Secretary-General, is playing an active role in supporting the country's efforts towards economic recovery and social development, particularly with regard to solving the external debt problem and securing investments and new resources that will allow the country's economic and social programmes to continue towards national reconciliation, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to support those efforts; 18. Emphasizes the importance of the current political dialogue and economic cooperation between the European Union and its member States and the Central American countries, with the participation of the Group of Three (Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela), in particular the ministerial conference held at Florence, Italy, on 21 and 22 March 1996, where new objectives were approved, concerning support for the strengthening and consolidation of the rule of law, support for social policies aimed at softening the social costs of structural adjustment programmes, and support for the Central American integration process; 19. Also emphasizes the commitments on sustainable development adopted at the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth meetings of the Summit of Central American Presidents, with the aim of fashioning a region of peace, democracy and sustainable development, and urges the international community to give them every support; 20. Reiterates the importance of the support of the United Nations system through its operational activities, in particular the United Nations Development Programme, aimed at facilitating the development of programmes and projects which are indispensable for strengthening peace and the development process in the region, bearing particularly in mind the new strategy for subregional development established by the Alliance for the Sustainable Development of Central America, and urges the international community to lend its support to the achievement of the goals of the new strategy for development in Central America; /...