AU and UN Renew Agreements on Operational Support and Knowledge Exchange

The African Union and the United Nations have renewed two cooperation agreements aimed at strengthening operational support, institutional capacity and knowledge exchange.

The agreements were signed at a ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York on 21 September 2026 by Selma Malika Haddadi, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and Atul Khare, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support.

The renewed instruments include a Memorandum of Intent on cooperation in operational support and a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the Knowledge and Expertise Exchange Programme, known as KEEP.

Focus on practical cooperation

Haddadi and Khare stressed the need for the AU-UN relationship to move beyond coordination toward closer strategic alignment, shared priorities and practical cooperation.

They also highlighted sustained knowledge exchange, institutional capacity development and strong operational support systems as important to the African Union’s ability to plan, deploy and sustain peace support operations.

Khare said the existing partnership had shown the value of practical capacity development based on shared objectives and mutual learning. He described the renewal of the agreements as an important foundation for the next phase of cooperation and for strengthening African ownership, institutional capacity and operational readiness.

Nearly a decade of KEEP cooperation

The renewed agreements build on nearly a decade of cooperation under KEEP. The programme was established in 2016 and revitalized in 2022.

Its work has increasingly concentrated on capacity development, institutional strengthening and shared learning. Areas covered by the cooperation include mission planning, supply chains, finance, human resources and information and communications technology.

The inaugural STAR Programme, held in Algiers from 19 to 23 July 2026, was cited as another example of the value of AU-UN cooperation in strengthening institutional capacity and operational readiness.

The renewed frameworks reaffirm the organizations’ commitment to practical cooperation, African ownership and preparedness for future peace support operations. The source information does not specify the duration or detailed implementation provisions of the agreements.