United Nations: Leaders and ministers from Africa and Europe will meet here next week to discuss ways to boost security cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union (AU), South Africa's UN envoy said.

Wednesday's meeting, to be hosted by South African President Thabo Mbeki, will be attended by the presidents of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ivory Coast, Somalia and Tanzania as well as the prime ministers of Britain, Italy, and Ethiopia, Ambassador Dumisano Kumalo said yesterday.

France is to be represented by its junior minister for human rights, Rama Yade, at the gathering which will bring together high-level delegations from the AU and the UN s 15-member Security Council, he added.

US diplomats said it was still unclear at what level Washington would be represented.

Kumalo, who chairs the Security Council this month, said a resolution was expected to be adopted at the end of the meeting to strengthen UN-AU ties and welcome UN chief Ban Ki-moon's decision to appoint a high-level panel to look into how the world body can better support AU peacekeeping efforts.

"We want to consolidate these (efforts) into predictable, secure resources," he added.

Kumalo said that next Thursday, ambassadors of the AU and the Security Council would follow through with a council debate to review "in greater detail individual conflicts like Darfur and Somalia."

Lacking funding, equipment and adequate training, the AU has had trouble carrying out peacekeeping missions in Africa, notably in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region and Somalia.

Last week, South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said in Pretoria that the UN debate would offer an opportunity to discuss current conflicts in Africa, post-reconstruction development and how best to maximize the relationship between the UN and the AU.

Source : PTI