Uganda has secured a seat on the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council, the United Nations (UN) specialised agency responsible for setting standards and recommended practices that govern the global aviation industry. This follows elections at the ongoing ICAO Council’s 42nd Assembly in Montreal, Canada, from September 23 to October 3.
Held every three years, the ICAO Council Assembly brings together 193 member states to set global aviation policy, adopt new standards, and elect the ICAO Council of 36 States, a powerful body that governs international civil aviation between Assembly sessions. Uganda was on September 27 elected to the Council for the term 2025-2028 after a competitive process in which the East African country garnered 155 votes out of 185, following Part I and Part II elections. Africa put forward candidates in both Part II and Part III of the ICAO Council elections.
In Part II, which covers states making the largest contribution to the provision of facilities for international civil air navigation, Africa is represented by Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, while in Part III, which ensures equitable geographic representation, the candidates are Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Morocco, and Uganda.
Uganda’s delegation to the Assembly was led by the Minister of Works and Transport (MoWT), Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, who was accompanied by Ambassador Allan Kajik, the country’s acting envoy to Canada, and Mr Fred Bamweigye, the director general of the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), among other senior officials from the UCAA and the MoWT.
Speaking from Montreal, Canada, Gen Wamala, in a statement, described Uganda’s election as ‘an international vote of confidence in the country’s aviation sector’ and ‘an opportunity to learn best practices.
He added: ‘Uganda will be represented on the Council by Mr Kabbs Tijuke, who has been the CAA representative to the ICAO since May 2018.”
The African Union Commission (AUC), working with the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) and the AU member states, presented eight African countries as candidates for election to the ICAO Council, signalling a historic step in advancing Africa’s role in international aviation governance.
The candidacies of the eight African countries were endorsed by the 46th Ordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council held from February 12-13, 2025, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and reaffirmed by the 38th Ordinary Summit of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.