The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Ms Rosette Byengoma and her counterpart from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Vincent Bagiire, on Tuesday, co-chaired a meeting of Permanent Secretaries, Chiefs of Defence Forces/Staff and Senior Officials from Troop Contributing Countries to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
The meeting discussed and considered a technical report which will be recommended for consideration and adoption by the ministerial session that will take place on Wednesday, 26 April 2023.
While speaking at the meeting, Mr. Vincent Bagiire, recognized the importance of the meeting which he said provides an important platform to enable the Troop Contributing Countries to assess and evaluate the performance of ATMIS.
He said that it is important to remain cognizant of the achievements made by AMISOM which has since transited to ATMIS as he called for reflection on the gains that ATMIS has achieved.
PS Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bagiire W Vincent addressing the meeting
Mr Bagiire paid tribute to those that have lost their lives in the fight against terrorism and the forces that have been in Somalia and reminded them that their contribution is highly appreciated.
He reminded the delegates that ATMIS has played an important role in the peace, security and stability of Somalia, contributed to the political transition, training and jointly with the Somali security forces liberated areas that were controlled by the Al-Shabaab.
The Permanent Secretary underscored the need for joint regional efforts toward fighting the threat of terrorism as he addressed the delegates in the meeting.
“The threat of terrorism doesn’t know borders and it is incumbent to the region to work in unison to fight and ultimately eliminate all terrorist groups and their allies,” said Mr Bagiire.
He commended the technical officials for coming up with a comprehensive report that was discussed and adopted and he said it gives highlights the security situation in Somalia, the planned phased drawdown of ATMIS troops, points out the performance of ATMIS under each sector, challenges currently faced and those envisaged during the drawdown process.
He stressed to the delegates the need for joint and timely preparations and plan for the drawdown process and underscored the need for requisite equipment capabilities while executing the drawdown process and further said that Uganda like other TCCs is committed to the obligations of the ATMIS mandate in the spirit of Pan-Africanism.
The meeting was attended by delegates from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Ambassadors and representatives from the African Union, United Nations Support Office in Somalia and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.