The United Nations and the African Union (AU) has signed two agreements in order to further strengthen cooperation between the two international organizations in the area of peacekeeping support, UN officials said here Wednesday.

The agreements were signed in New York late Tuesday by the UN under-secretary-general for field support, Atul Khare, and the African Union Commission deputy chairperson, Erastus J.O. Mwencha, the officials said.

The first agreement paves the way for the participation of AU personnel in an administration and resource training program designed to foster mission support leadership and technical skills as well as nurture career development, said the officials.

Khare and Mwencha also agreed to establish a pilot staff exchange program related to peace support operations. The agreement allows staff members from both organizations to be deployed in each others' respective headquarters for three months to work on peacekeeping logistics, technology, financial and administrative matters.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mwencha said, "The African Union is encouraged by the continued collaboration with the United Nations. This staff exchange and knowledge sharing initiative is particularly significant as it will enhance our collaboration efforts and augment the value derived from the face-to-face interactions between our staff members."

"In today's virtual world, face-to face knowledge sharing is a rarity and at AU we welcome and value the enrichment that this intimate approach will offer to our continued collaboration efforts," he said.

For his part, Khare said, "African peacekeeping contributions are the backbone of our operations. We are committed to strengthening our partnership which enables effective delivery by the African Union for our collective benefit and to reinforcing the operational benefits of cooperation."

"We look forward to also benefitting from the experience of the African Union through the deployment of their staff members in the Department of Field Support," said the senior UN official.

Both initiatives were developed by the UN Department of Field Support as a response to an African Union request to strengthening their capacity in peace operations support.

Sourcec : XINHUA