Africa must boost Arab ties to build peace: AU

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Africa should deepen its ties to the Arab world to help end a spate of conflicts in the regions of Africa where Africans and Arabs meet, the African Union's top diplomat said in remarks published on Monday.

The 53-nation AU should cooperate more with the Arab League and also seek out Middle Eastern "deposits of wealth" to attract investment, Jean Ping, the new chairman of the AU Commission, was quoted as saying by Algeria's El Moudjahid newspaper.

"We're seeing lots of conflicts ... and unlike in the past they're in a zone where the Arab world and the black African world meet -- be it in Sudan, Somalia or the Horn of Africa -- where the two worlds touch geographically and culturally."

"It's important in my view to reinforce the cooperation between the AU and the Arab League," Ping said.

Wars are taking place in Chad, Sudan and Somalia while insurgencies or periodic attacks by armed groups are affecting parts of the Sahel countries of Mali, Niger and Mauritania.

Most north African countries are members of both the AU and the Arab League.

Ping added: "If the AU member countries allow me, I'll devote a part of my time to reinforcing and energizing this cooperation, not only to try to find solutions there, where the problems I've just cited exist, but also for the sake of economic development.

"There are deposits of wealth in the Middle East. I think African countries are well placed to receive a part of these investments. For that we need appropriate mechanisms."

(Reporting by William Maclean; Editing by Janet Lawrence)