A/RES/57/260 Also expressing its deep appreciation for the generous offer of the Government of Malaysia to host the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur in 2004, 1. Takes note of the report of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly;4 2. Notes the outcome of the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 5 hosted by the Government of the Netherlands from 7 to 19 April 2002; 3. Also notes the outcome of the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, held at The Hague from 22 to 26 April 2002; 4. Welcomes the fact that one hundred eighty-five States and one regional economic integration organization have become parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 1 and urges States that have not joined the Convention to become parties to it; 5. Invites parties to the Convention to ratify or accede to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity 6 as soon as possible; 6. Reiterates the importance of the decision of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization to examine, through the World Trade Organization Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, the relationship between the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights 7 and the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as the protection of traditional knowledge; 7. Recalls the commitments made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development to pursue a more efficient and coherent implementation of the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the achievement by 2010 of a significant reduction in the current rate of loss of biological diversity, which will require the provision of new and additional financial and technical resources to developing countries and includes actions at all levels, and in this regard calls upon the international community to provide the necessary support to developing countries, and stresses the importance of the effective use of resources; 8. Also recalls the commitment made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development to negotiate within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, bearing in mind the Bonn Guidelines, 8 an international regime to promote and safeguard the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. And invites the Conference of the Parties to take appropriate steps in this regard; _______________ 4 See A/57/220. Bearing in mind the procedural concerns of some States relating to decision VI/23, and in this regard noting the deliberations and decisions of the Bureau of the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, with a view to addressing these concerns at the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties (see paras. 294–324 of the report of the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties and the minutes of the meeting of the Bureau of the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, held in Montreal, Canada, on 23 and 24 September 2002). 6 See UNEP/CBD/ExCOP/1/3 and Corr.1, part two, annex. 7 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1869, No. 31874. 8 Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising out of their Utilization (decision VI/24 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity). 5 2