The Ugandan government generally seeks good relations with other nations without reference to ideological orientation. Relations with Rwanda, Congo and Sudan have sometimes been strained because of security concerns. President Yoweri Museveni has been active in attempts to implement a peace agreement with Burundi and has supported peace initiatives in Sudan and Somalia.

In the past, neighbors were concerned about Uganda's relationship with Libya, which had supplied military equipment and bartered fuel to Uganda. In addition to its friendly ties to Western nations, Uganda has maintained ties with North Korea. Uganda's has strained relations with Sudan because of alleged Sudanese support for the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The LRA seeks to overthrow the Uganda government and has inflicted brutal violence on the population in northern Uganda, including rape, kidnapping, torture, and murder. In 2002 Uganda and Sudan reestablished diplomatic ties and signed a protocol permitting the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) to enter southern Sudan and engage the LRA. The protocol must be renewed periodically, and has lapsed at least twice since it was signed.

Another rebel group operating in western Uganda and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the Rwenzori mountains , the Allied Democratic Forces, emerged as a localized threat in 1996 and inflicted substantial suffering on the population in the area. It has largely been defeated by the UPDF and the areas secured.

Disputes - international: Ugandan military forces are supporting the rebel forces in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo