UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and the European Union on Tuesday signed an agreement on the sidelines of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly to enhance cooperation and strengthen collective response in peace operations and crisis management.
The Framework Agreement Between the United Nations and the European Union for the Provision of Mutual Support in the context of their respective missions and operations in the field was signed by the UN Undersecretary-General for Operational Support Atul Khare and the head of EU Delegation to the United Nations Olof Skoog.
"Building on the success of our joint achievements, this agreement reaffirms that partnerships are essential to address the growing scale and complexity of challenges to international peace and security," according to a press release obtained by Xinhua.
"The agreement will facilitate operational alignment and enhance complementarity between EU and UN field missions in the areas of logistics, medical, and security support. In particular, this agreement will enable the UN and EU to expand co-operation in operational support services by building mutual understanding of our respective procedures and structures for the planning and execution of logistics support in missions and operations in the field," it said.
Initiated in the Western Balkans in 2003, the bilateral cooperation has since expanded to include a number of theaters in Africa and the Middle East. "Today, we closely coordinate our activities, i.e. in Somalia, Central African Republic, Libya and Kosovo, and work side-by-side in support of the G5 Sahel Joint Force," the press release added.
