The opening was officiated by the African Union (AU) Permanent Observer to the United Nations (UN), Fatima Kyari Mohammed; UN Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) for Africa, Martha Pobee; the Permanent Representative of Kenya to the UN, Martin Kimani; the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Norway to the UN, Mona Juul; and the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the African Union (SRSG) and Head of UNOAU, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga.

During the workshop, departments/offices of the Secretariat, including DPPA-DPO, DOS, SCAD, OHCHR and PBSO provided briefings, in their respective areas of competence, on the progress of implementation of the UN-AU framework for enhanced partnership in peace and security; the UN Security Council (UNSC) mechanisms and work processes and on opportunities for strengthening cooperation between the AUPSC and the UN Peace Building Commission. The CoE also met with the UNSC Ad hoc Working Group to discuss the draft outcome document of the 16th Annual Joint Consultative meeting between the AUPSC and the members of the UNSC.

In her remarks, Ambassador Fatima Kyari Mohammed stressed the vital role of the CoE in advancing the UN-AU partnership. ASG Pobee called for strengthening collaboration in addressing conflict drivers and cross-cutting challenges including those faced by women and youth, and those associated with climate change. Ambassador Kimani called for the re-engineering of AU structures and processes and underscored the importance for the AUPSC and the UNSC to be more cognizant of the respective working methods. Ambassador Muul underscored the importance of strengthening technical capacities of the different stakeholders for better delivery on conflict prevention and mediation programs and reaffirmed the continued support of the Kingdom of Norway in that regard. In his remarks, the SRSG to the AU and Head of UNOAU, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga called upon the CoE to invest more in conflict analysis to inform more targeted and impactful response actions from the AUPSC.