World Bulletin / News Desk

 The African Union Commission (AUC) and Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), an NGO, signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday calling for broad-based development cooperation.

AUC Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and IRW Board of Trustees President Ibrahim El Zayat signed the MoU during a brief ceremony held at African Union headquarters.

El Zayat said the MoU sought to deepen the IRW's cooperation with the African continent.

"The document is strategic and appropriate to see how our work can be more efficient," he said.

He said cooperation would be in the fields of poverty alleviation, water and sanitation support, and education in African countries.

Dlamini-Zuma, for her part, said the document calls for stepped-up cooperation between the two countries.

In a statement, the AUC asserted that the MoU would "establish the basic principal terms of cooperation between the parties for the implementation of joint projects and activities, especially in supporting broad-based sustainable development in Africa aimed at relieving poverty."

Established some 30 years ago, the IRW currently operates in 15 African countries.

In Ethiopia alone, it has so far spent some six million pounds sterling for various development projects.