UN and African Union pledge closer cooperation, call for Security Council reform and more finance for Africa

At a United Nations press briefing, African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssef and U.N. Secretary‑General Gutierrez outlined a tighter AU–UN partnership and urged richer countries to back wide‑ranging reforms and new finance for Africa.

"The African Union and the United Nations have aligned their development agendas," Youssef said, pointing to Agenda 2063 and the U.N. 2030 Agenda and describing the AU’s priority to "silence the guns" across the continent. He told reporters the AU seeks a "transparent, equitable, and just reform of the U.N. Security Council."

Gutierrez framed three priorities for the U.N.: make Africa a U.N. priority, reform global financial architecture to better serve developing countries, and invest in climate and clean energy. "I call on member states to pay their regular assessments and peacekeeping contributions," Gutierrez said, urging more predictable resources for peace operations and development work.

Both officials stressed that existing multilateral frameworks must change. Gutierrez called for tripling the lending capacity of multilateral development banks, easing debt burdens, and creating new instruments to reduce the cost of capital. He said developed countries should "double the adaptation finance to at least 40,000,000,000 US dollars this year" and later referenced mobilizing "1,300,000,000,000 US dollars annually by 2025" to meet developing countries' needs.

The leaders also highlighted recent cooperative efforts, including joint frameworks on peace and security and on sustainable development, and the AU’s engagement on the "pact for the future." Youssef and Gutierrez said the AU will use the upcoming G20 summit in Johannesburg to press for financial‑system reforms and climate justice.

Why it matters: both the AU and the U.N. tied demands for institutional change (Security Council seats, greater voice in financial institutions) to concrete finance requests. The secretary‑general’s appeal for regular assessments and peacekeeping contributions underscores a central U.N. concern: predictable funding for operations that the AU and U.N. run together.

Next steps: Gutierrez said he will raise these finance and reform requests at the Johannesburg G20 meeting and return to COP30 to press climate adaptation commitments. The briefing ended with a reporter Q&A; no formal decisions or votes were taken.