Guided by General Assembly resolution 3168 (XXVIII) of 17 December 1973, in which the Assembly requested the Council to give priority, inter alia, to the strengthening of economic, scientific and technical co-operation among states.

It is necessary to bring these research and action targets to the attention of the Governments and scientific teams of all countries, developed or developing, so that they may voluntarily direct their efforts to these problems as part of their over-all policy.

It is desirable that awareness in this matter should lead to organized co-operation between the institutions in the United Nations systems, the other international or regional institutions and the national bodies concerned, and that it should help to create or strengthen an autonomous research and action potential in the developing countries, avoid dublication and promote the use of the existing potential.