Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has praised Uganda’s contribution to peace and stability in Somalia and its capital. He also told Ugandan investors that his government would back their business interests.
Mohamud was speaking on Friday as chief guest at Uganda’s 64th independence anniversary celebrations at the Ugandan embassy in Mogadishu.
He paid tribute to the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), whose soldiers have served in Somalia since March 2007. Uganda was the first country to deploy troops under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and the UPDF has since remained one of the largest contingents in successive African Union missions in the country.
Mohamud also recalled President Yoweri Museveni’s visit to Mogadishu in 1992, when the city was gripped by severe insecurity. He described the visit as an extraordinary demonstration of solidarity with the Somali people.
Turning to the economy, Mohamud said Somalia was committed to expanding cooperation with Uganda in trade, investment and economic development. He assured Ugandan business people at the event that his government would support them.
“We will work with you, and Somali institutions will work with you, and you will have what you have requested,” he said.
His pledge followed the mid-term review of the Uganda–Somalia Joint Permanent Commission, a business forum and a joint exhibition, held at Airport Hotel in Mogadishu on 21 and 22 October. It was the first time the Somali capital had hosted a meeting of the commission, which the two countries set up in 2022.
According to the organisers, the talks covered labour, aviation, trade, tourism and investment. The programme included plans for a bilateral labour agreement and a Mogadishu Declaration on trade and investment cooperation.
Commercial links between the two countries have grown in recent years. Uganda Airlines now flies to Mogadishu four times a week. The commission’s second session, held in Kampala in October 2025, produced agreements on security, education and immigration.
The independence celebrations were hosted by Uganda’s Ambassador to Somalia, Prof Sam Turyamuhika, under the theme “Enhancing Our Sovereignty with Hope and Visionary Leadership”.
Guests included senior Somali government officials, diplomats, Ugandan investors and members of the Ugandan community in Mogadishu. Prof Turyamuhika thanked Mohamud for attending, saying his presence reflected the depth of relations between the two countries.
Gen (Rtd) Henry Tumukunde, Uganda’s Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, reflected on Uganda’s path since independence from Britain on 9 October 1962. He cited gains in peace, stability and socioeconomic development and paid tribute to Ugandan peacekeepers who have served in Somalia.
“True independence is more than a date on a calendar; it is a living promise,” he said.
Earlier, Gen Tumukunde met members of the Ugandan diaspora in Somalia and urged them to conduct themselves with professionalism and integrity.
The push for closer economic ties comes as the African Union’s military presence in Somalia approaches a turning point. The UN Security Council’s authorisation for the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) expires on 31 December 2026, and the United States has said it will not support renewing the mandate.
Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has set August 1, 2027 as the deadline for withdrawing Ugandan troops from Somalia.
Ugandan officials said deeper trade and investment ties would be essential to consolidating the security gains made during the UPDF’s nearly two decades in Somalia.