On 16 September, the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) took part in a joint Director-level meeting on Somalia between the UN Headquarters and the African Union (AU).

The meeting was convened in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2748 (2024), which calls for a joint report by the UN Secretary-General and the AU Chairperson, in consultation with Somalia and international stakeholders. The report is expected to address key aspects of the mission in Somalia, including its overall design, structure, transition plan, Somalia’s responsibilities, coordination mechanisms, benchmarks for progress, and an exit strategy. A verbal update is scheduled for 11 October, with the full report due by 15 November 2024.

In this respect, participants in the meeting discussed the modalities for setting up a joint UN-AU team for this task and agreed on a date to deploy jointly to Mogadishu, Somalia to begin the various engagements. Based on the proposed Terms of Reference, it was agreed that focal points from both the UN and AU would be designated to facilitate a joint assessment by the UN-AU team in Mogadishu within the next two weeks to advance the mission’s objectives.