A/RES/51/167 Page 2 Expressing its appreciation to the Government and the people of Singapore for hosting the inaugural Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, I 1. Endorses the outcome of the ninth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, held at Midrand, South Africa, in April and May 1996, in particular the document entitled "A Partnership for Growth and Development",1 which builds upon various related agreements and conferences, and expresses its political will and responsibility with respect to implementing the agreed commitments; 2. Takes note of the report of the Trade and Development Board on its forty-third session;2 3. Welcomes the fact that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, as part of the United Nations system and a contributor to its revitalization, has adopted far-reaching reforms, as embodied in the Midrand Declaration and the document entitled "A Partnership for Growth and Development",1 adopted by consensus at the ninth session of the Conference, which encompass its programme of work, its intergovernmental machinery and the reform of its secretariat, including its complementarity with the World Trade Organization, inter alia, by making its analysis of trade and development available to the World Trade Organization, and its cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and relevant organizations, thus adapting itself to new economic and institutional modalities created by the process of globalization, the conclusion of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations agreements3 and the creation of the World Trade Organization; 4. Also welcomes the importance attached by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development at its ninth session to building a lasting partnership for development between non-governmental actors and the Conference and the initiative taken by the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to hold meetings with relevant actors; 5. Recognizes the role of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development as the focal point within the United Nations for the integrated treatment of development and interrelated issues in the areas of trade, finance, technology, investment and sustainable development; 6. Also recognizes that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, having a comparative advantage in tackling trade-related development issues, should continue to facilitate the integration of 1 See A/51/308. 2 A/51/15 (vol. II); see Official Records of the General Assembly, Fiftyfirst Session, Supplement No. 15. 3 See Legal Instruments Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, done at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994 (GATT secretariat publication, Sales No. GATT/1994-7). /...