§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to improve relations with the Organisation of African Unity. [149495]
§ Mr. MullinThe UK has increasing contact, at senior official and ministerial level, with the African Union (AU) which formally replaced the Organisation of African Unity in 2002. I met the Chairman of the African Union Commission, Professor Alpha Konare on 19 January 2004.
The AU has set itself important objectives in promoting peace and security, governance and economic integration. The UK has provided support (£1,089,745) to the AU Conflict Management Centre and the AU's wider peacekeeping work (£5.9 million to the African Mission in Burundi, AMIB). We are also providing small-scale support to assist the current Chairman of the AU Assembly (HE Joaquim Chissano, President of Mozambique) with Mozambique's AU Presidency duties and English language teaching to the AU Commission Chairman.
The UK also gives strong support to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), a programme of the African Union, through our 1417W commitments under the G8 Africa Action Plan and also through financial support (£500,000) managed through a UNDP trust fund to the NEPAD Secretariat.