Part of a larger group of peace-keeping forces in Somalia.
Speaking during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) briefing on Somalia in New York on Friday, the defence minister, Dr. Chrispus Kiyonga, said with the increased support from the UN, the next phase of battling the al-Shabaab would be executed more efficiently and quickly.
Kiyonga told the council that Uganda and Burundi had made enormous sacrifices to liberate Mogadishu, sustain the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and create the environment that has enabled international actors to fly in and out of Mogadishu in safety.
According to Kiyonga, had it not been for insufficient resources and equipment, even greater progress could have been realised.
He supported the request by the African Union for the Kenyan and Djiboutian troops to be included in the AMISOM and the expansion of the war front beyond Mogadishu.
Kiyonga also expressed the view that the fight against piracy in the Indian Ocean be linked to the effort to stabilise Somalia, saying pirates are generated on main land Somalia.
During his visit to the US, Kiyonga met a number of dignitaries, including Ashton B. Carter, the US assistant secretary for defence, Ambassador Johnnie Carson, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, and the permanent representatives at the UN for the US, UK, Japan, Turkey and Burundi.