New York — The United Nations Security Council and its African Union (AU) counterpart today agreed to bolster their collaboration in addressing conflict and building peace.

"We commit ourselves to the development of a stronger and more structured relationship between the UN Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council," they said in a joint communiqué issued following a meeting in Addis Ababa, specifying that areas to be addressed include conflict prevention, management and resolution, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and the exchange of information on hotspots.

The two bodies emphasized the importance of developing the African Standby Force. On financing, the joint communiqué looked forward to a report of the UN Secretary-General on "supporting and improving in a sustained way the resource base and capacity of the AU."

The AU Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council agreed to hold joint meetings at least once a year, either in Addis Ababa or New York.

"To further our relationship we will consider how best to improve the effectiveness of AU and UN peace efforts in Africa and how to strengthen coordination between the AU and the UN," they said.

A delegation of the Security Council is scheduled to depart from Addis Ababa early on Sunday for Khartoum before heading next to Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The team is expected to return on 21 June.