Uganda and Somalia will review progress on commitments made under their Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) at a meeting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, held alongside a business forum and joint exhibition from October 20 to 23.
The mid-term review, at the Airport Hotel in Mogadishu, comes a year after the commission's second session in Kampala and ahead of its third full session, which the two countries agreed to hold in Mogadishu in 2027.
At the Kampala session in October 2025, the two governments signed three memoranda of understanding covering security, education and immigration management. The talks were co-chaired by John Mulimba, Uganda's former minister of state for foreign affairs in charge of regional cooperation, and Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir, Somalia's minister of education.
The two sides also directed their civil aviation authorities to review the Bilateral Air Services Agreement. They agreed to operationalise a joint investment and business council to tackle non-tariff barriers and to implement the Kampala Declaration on Trade, Tourism and Investment.
The Mogadishu meeting is expected to take stock of those commitments and agree on next steps before the 2027 session.
Organised by Uganda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its embassy in Mogadishu and its Regional Economic Cooperation Department, the event runs under the theme "Harnessing Trade, Tourism and Investment Opportunities between both Countries and beyond".
Alongside the review, the business forum aims to turn diplomatic goodwill into trade deals, distribution agreements and joint ventures. Government officials, investment promotion agencies, tourism operators, manufacturers, exporters and development partners are expected to attend.
For much of the past two decades, relations between Kampala and Mogadishu have been defined by security. Uganda was the first country to deploy troops to the African Union mission in Somalia in 2007 and has remained a leading contributor through its successors, ATMIS and AUSSOM, which support Somali forces fighting the armed group al-Shabab.
Ugandan officials now want commerce to take a larger place in the relationship. More than 20,000 Ugandans are employed in Somalia, and Somalia's entry into the East African Community in 2024 has opened the way for closer regional trade.
Trade between the two countries remains small but is growing. Uganda's exports to Somalia reached $6.78m in 2024, UN Comtrade data shows, more than double the $2.75m recorded in 2023. In 2020, Uganda exported goods worth $676,000 to Somalia, while Somalia's exports to Uganda totalled $75,700.
Tobacco products led Uganda's 2024 exports to Somalia at $2.55m, followed by aircraft and parts at $1.2m, and wood and wood products at $528,470. Other exports included machinery, electrical equipment, beverages, furniture, vehicles, coffee and tea, medical apparatus and dairy products.
Trade in the other direction is minimal. Somalia exported goods worth $35,400 to Uganda in 2021, down from $671,000 in 2016.
Somalia remains a minor market for Ugandan goods. Uganda's total exports were valued at $8.04bn in 2024, with the United Arab Emirates, Kenya and Hong Kong as the leading destinations. Neighbouring Kenya, which shares a long border with Somalia, has been estimated to export about $110m worth of goods to Somalia annually.
The Mogadishu forum will focus on agro-industrialisation, coffee and tea, tourism and hospitality, health and medical supplies, education, and industrial supplies from Uganda's National Enterprise Corporation, including defence-related industrial goods, machinery and logistics support.
Somali buyers are seeking Ugandan fresh fruits such as avocado and pineapple, grains, maize, wheat and cassava flour, long-life milk and milk powder, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and processed coffee and tea. Organisers also point to opportunities in oil, gas and minerals, particularly gold, as well as in higher education and vocational training.
The opening day will feature ministerial addresses from both countries, the inauguration of the joint exhibition and policy panels on the African Continental Free Trade Area, customs procedures, visas and barriers to trade and travel.
The second day is dedicated to company pitches, pre-arranged business-to-business matchmaking and a town hall with customs, trade and tourism regulators. The third day will feature a public and trade exhibition, including coffee and tea cupping, and site visits in Mogadishu for the Ugandan delegation.
Participation and exhibition stalls are free for accredited Ugandan delegates, with stalls allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Delegates will pay a $60 visa fee, and the Ugandan embassy will help speed up visa processing and security clearance.
Uganda Airlines operates the only direct flights between Entebbe and Mogadishu. The embassy is negotiating discounted fares of about $450 for economy, down from $520, and $850 for business class. Ethiopian Airlines, via Addis Ababa, offers an alternative route.
Partner hotels for delegates range from $90 a night at NAC Hotel to $710 at Decale Airport Hotel.