Minister Tumukunde (C) visiting some of the Ugandan goods being showcased Uganda and Somalia have opened a mid-term review of their Joint Permanent Commission (JPC), with several agreements reached at the last session – including an air services agreement and a joint business council – still awaiting implementation.The review opened Wednesday at the Airport Hotel in Mogadishu, alongside an investment and business forum and a joint exhibition.Vincent Bagiire Waiswa, Permanent Secretary at Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Hamza Adan Haadoow, Permanent Secretary at Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, who co-chairs the review, said focus must shift from signing to delivery.“Let us ensure that our cooperation goes beyond agreements on paper and delivers tangible benefits to the people of Somalia and Uganda,” Haadoow said.He listed three priorities: implementing existing commitments, assigning clear responsibilities and timelines, and establishing strong follow-up mechanisms.Bagiire said operational challenges facing Uganda Airlines in Somalia were among the new areas of cooperation agreed at the second JPC session in Kampala in October 2025. He urged both sides to finalise the Bilateral Air Services Agreement “as soon as possible” for signing.Uganda Airlines is currently the only carrier operating direct flights between Entebbe and Mogadishu, with four weekly flights.Uganda has also submitted draft Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on customs, standards and quality assurance, statistics and health, Bagiire said. The two countries further agreed in Kampala to set up a Joint Permanent Investment and Business Council to address non-tariff barriers, but it is yet to be operationalised.“The signing of MoUs and agreements should translate into tangible, results-oriented collaboration that drives economic growth and shared prosperity,” he said.Gen. Henry Tumukunde, Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, was scheduled to sign a Bilateral Labour Agreement with his Somali counterpart on Wednesday afternoon.“Africa inherited fragmented markets that make us consumers of foreign goods and exporters of our raw wealth,” Tumukunde said.“We watch our neighbours buy from distant continents what is grown or manufactured just a few miles away across a border line. This is a luxury we can no longer afford,” he added.The review comes as bilateral trade grows from a low base. Uganda’s exports to Somalia rose from Shs11.4 billion ($2.75m) in 2023 to Shs28 billion ($6.78m) in 2024, according to UN Comtrade data. Tobacco led at Shs10.6 billion ($2.55m), followed by aircraft and parts at Shs5 billion ($1.2m) and wood products at Shs2.2 billion ($528,470).“Our imports and exports have exponentially grown. However, we believe our private sector can do better than the current statistics,” Bagiire said.Trade in the opposite direction is far smaller. Somalia’s exports to Uganda were Shs146m ($35,400) in 2021, down from Shs2.8b ($671,000) in 2016, according to Comtrade.Bagiire said both governments have created platforms through business forums and exhibitions, and it is now up to the private sector to take up the opportunities.Haadoow urged businesses to “establish partnerships, explore new markets, and identify commercially viable opportunities that benefit both countries,” noting considerable potential in trade, investment, tourism, agriculture, education, health, labour and aviation.According to a preview of the forum, Somali importers are seeking fresh fruit, grains, maize, wheat and cassava flour, long-life milk, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and processed coffee and tea.“Uganda is land-linked, while Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa spanning 3,333km along the Indian Ocean,” Bagiire said.Vincent Bagiire Waiswa, Permanent Secretary at Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign AffairsHe said Somalia could act as a trade bridge between Africa and the Gulf states, describing Mogadishu as a prospective “New Dubai” in the East African Community (EAC). Shorter sea routes “will substantially reduce the cost of shipping and increase market access, if fully actualised,” he said.The Gulf is already Uganda’s biggest export market. The Finance Ministry’s Performance of the Economy report for May 2026 shows the Middle East took 54.2% of Uganda’s merchandise exports in April 2026, almost entirely to the United Arab Emirates. The EAC was second with 20.8%.Uganda’s total exports reached a record Shs46 trillion ($12.7b) in the year to November 2025, up 33% from Shs30 trillion ($8.5b) a year earlier, according to Bank of Uganda.Somalia became the EAC’s eighth member on March 4, 2024. Intra-EAC exports rose 33.2% to Shs13.2 trillion ($3.2b) in the April-June 2026 quarter, per the EAC Quarterly Statistics Bulletin.The review aligns with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Economic and Commercial Diplomacy Strategy for 2025/26 to 2029/30, which makes embassies responsible for delivering exports, investment and tourism. The strategy is linked to government’s tenfold growth target of a $500 billion economy (about Shs2,069 trillion) by 2040.The business forum continues Thursday under the theme “Harnessing Trade, Tourism and Investment Opportunities in both Countries and Beyond” and is expected to conclude with the signing of a Mogadishu Declaration on trade and investment.The post Uganda, Somalia Push to Turn Signed Deals into Trade Gains appeared first on Business Focus.