It is not clear to me why everyone is trying so hard to avoid the obvious translation. Isn't this "direct cooperation" in the sense that the unit enables the institutes etc. to organise their cooperation with western Asia/North Africa directly, rather than going through a long chain of other intermediaries? In which case it could be translated by something like:

"Through the direct cooperation unit, the faculty has since 2006 offered the institutes and Fachgebiete the opportunity to ....."