A/RES/59/232 Strategy for Disaster Reduction which led to the establishment of the International Centre for the Study of the El Niño Phenomenon at Guayaquil, Ecuador, and to its opening in February 2003, and encourages those parties to continue their efforts for the advancement of the Centre; Calls upon the Secretary-General and the relevant United Nations organs, 3. funds and programmes, in particular those taking part in the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, encourages the international community to adopt, as appropriate, the necessary measures to support the development of the International Centre for the Study of the El Niño Phenomenon, and invites the international community to provide scientific, technical and financial assistance and cooperation for this purpose, as well as to strengthen, as appropriate, other centres devoted to the study of the El Niño phenomenon; Encourages the Centre to strengthen its links, as appropriate, with 4. national meteorological and hydrological services of the Latin American region, the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific, the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research and the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction, as well as with other relevant regional and global organizations that study climate, such as the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development, the Drought Monitoring Centre and the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research, and other relevant centres, as appropriate, in order to ensure the effective and efficient use of the available resources; Underscores the importance of maintaining the El Niño/Southern 5. Oscillation observation system, continuing research into extreme weather events, improving forecasting skills and developing appropriate policies for reducing the impact of the El Niño phenomenon and other extreme weather events and emphasizes the need to further develop and strengthen these institutional capacities in all countries, in particular in developing countries; Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its 6. sixty-first session on the implementation of the present resolution, under the item entitled “Sustainable development”. 75th plenary meeting 22 December 2004 2