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The Heads of State African union Transition Mission in Somalia Summit will be a follow-up event after the meeting between Somalia President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and his Ugandan counterpart, H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, during the United States Africa Leaders’ Summit held in Washington DC, from December 13-15, 2022.

Uganda will host Presidents of countries whose troops are part of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). According to a statement shared on the UPDF website on Monday 24^th April 2023, technical officials from Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) kick-started preparatory meetings for the Heads of State Summit which will be held on April 27^th 2023 at Entebbe State House.

The Summit is intended to evaluate the achievements made in the implementation of the ATMIS mandate and to review the ATMIS drawdown plan in compliance with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 26/70 (2022) and 26/28. The Heads of State Summit will be a follow-up event after the meeting between Somalia President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, during the United States Africa Leaders’ Summit held in Washington DC, from December 13^th-15^th, 2022.

During the USA Summit, Mohamud requested Museveni to host an Extra-Ordinary Summit of Heads of State of the Troop Contributing Countries to ATIMS which include; Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

While opening the session of the Technical Officials of the TCCs to ATMIS on Monday 24^th April 2023 at Serena Conference Hotel in Kampala, the Head of Ugandan Delegation, who is also the Head of the Regional Peace and Security Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amb. Julius Kivuna welcomed delegates and thanked them for accepting to participate in this important meeting of the TCCs to ATMIS.

He called upon experts to discuss as candidly as possible so that the meeting can propose workable recommendations for strategic leaders of ATMIS to make decisions that will support the smooth and peaceful drawdown process of the ATMIS Troops.

He expressed Uganda’s gratitude to the nations that provided troops, Somalia, the host nation, and the ATMIS partners for their tremendous assistance, selflessness, and sense of camaraderie in helping to advance and maintain peace, security, and stability in Somalia and our region.

According to a statement posted on the UPDF website, Amb. Kivuna said, “These efforts have resulted in a number of achievements, including saving lives, improved infrastructure, and social services that have greatly improved the lives and livelihoods of our brothers and sisters in Somalia.

He added that the meeting gives TCCs a valuable forum to discuss issues related to ATMIS, as well as an opportunity to assess the progress made in carrying out the mandate for ATMIS. On April 25^th 2023 and 27^th April 2023, there will also be meetings of the Permanent Secretaries, the Chief of Defence Forces, and the Ministerial Session.

The UN, AU, UK, USA, EU, IGAD, and the EAC Secretariat are among the ATMIS TCCs and Development Partners that are anticipated to attend both the Ministerial Session and the summit. Delegates from Somalia, the African Union, the East African Secretariat, the United Nations Support Office, and representatives from the nations that provide troops, particularly Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, were there.