The relationship between the UN Security Council and the AU should be institutionalised, President Jacob Zuma said in New York yesterday.

''We . believe that we should institutionalise the relationship between the two councils if our common objective of maintaining international peace and security is to be maintained," he said during the Security Council summit debate.

This was one of four proposals Zuma made on how to strengthen cooperation between the two bodies. He said aligning policies and mechanisms for conflict prevention, mediation and resolution in Africa was paramount.

His second proposal was that the two bodies should consider developing modalities for cooperation and decision-making.

Thirdly, he said, a clear division of labour would be crucial to the success of the partnership.

"This has to take into account the different competencies, capacities and comparative advantages of the two bodies."

Finally, Zuma said, capacity building and sustainable resource allocation remained a fundamental problem.

Africa had in the past decade demonstrated sufficiently the political will and commitment to rid itself of all conflicts and wars, he said.

Critical to building a stronger relationship between the bodies would be to avoid a situation similar to the one that transpired during the conflict in Libya last year.

"The views of the AU must be listened to if we are to strengthen our relationship and prevent further conflict," Zuma said.

He said the AU's political roadmap, which would have helped resolve the conflict in Libya, was completely ignored in favour of bombing by Nato forces.

He said the consequences of actions carried out in Libya in the name of the UN Security Council had spilled over into other countries in the region.

"The lesson we should draw from the Libyan experience is that greater political coherence and a common vision between the AU and UN are critical in the resolution of African conflicts."

• The UN Security Council has received a request from the AU for permission to increase the size of its peacekeeping force in Somalia.

The union's commissioner for peace and security, Ramtane Lamamra, said it wanted to expand its presence in Somalia from 12000 troops to more than 17700.

The call came as Somali Islamist rebels stormed a police camp in northeastern Kenya, killing seven people and kidnapping three.