A/RES/57/245 strengthened interest for sustainable development and poverty eradication in mountain regions; 3. Recommends that the experience gained during the International Year of Mountains be valued in the context of an appropriate follow-up; 4. Notes with appreciation the effective role played by Governments, as well as major groups, academic institutions and international organizations and agencies, in the activities related to the International Year of Mountains, including the establishment of seventy-four national committees; 5. Also notes with appreciation the work undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as the lead agency for the International Year of Mountains, as well as the valuable contributions made by the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations University, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund; 6. Encourages Governments, the United Nations system, the international financial institutions, the Global Environment Facility, within its mandate, and all relevant stakeholders from civil society organizations and the private sector to provide support, including through voluntary financial contributions, to the local, national and international programmes and projects resulting from the International Year of Mountains; 7. Invites the international community and other relevant partners to consider joining the voluntary International Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions; 8. Notes that all stakeholders in the voluntary International Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions have initiated a consultative process, with a view to determining the best options for further assisting stakeholders in the implementation of the Partnership, including through consideration of the offer made by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to host a secretariat financed through voluntary contributions; 9. Encourages all relevant entities of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates, to continue their constructive collaboration in the context of the follow-up to the International Year of Mountains, taking into account the inter-agency group on mountains, and the need for the further involvement of the United Nations system, in particular the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations University, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund, international financial institutions and other relevant international organizations, consistent with the mandates specified in the Bishkek Mountain Platform; 10. Decides to designate 11 December as International Mountain Day, as from 11 December 2003, and encourages the international community to organize on this day events at all levels to highlight the importance of sustainable mountain development; 11. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session a report on the achievements of the International Year of 2