Ugandan business people are looking to taking advantage of a breakout of peace in the region next year as decade-long conflicts around the Great Lakes wind down, predicted state-owned The New Vision on Saturday.

The report said, "in 2005, a landmark agreement was signed between the Khartoum government and the rebel group Sudan People's Liberation Movement whose military wing has been battling the government since 1983."

"In Burundi, after more than 10 years of a civil war, a peace deal was struck. The smooth election in August of a Hutu president as the head of an ethnically-mixed government, marked a milestone in Burundi's road to peace," the report said.

On the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), it said that "the peace situation in eastern DRC is still dicey after a war backed by at least six African nations came to an end in 2002 and a government was installed in 2004. Eastern DRC, which borders Uganda in the west, still remains a security concern but regional analysts think international pressure and commerce will stabilize the area in the near future."

The report pointed out that "Uganda and its firms by geographical positioning alone stand to benefit from the regional economic growth spurt."

According to the latest statistics, Uganda's exports to the DRC, Rwanda, Sudan and Burundi have increased three fold to 57 million US dollars in 2003 from 19 million dollars in 2000.

"We have seen strong growth in demand for basic commodities like soap, cooking oil, sugar, salt and roofing materials to the region," Uganda Exports Promotion Board's deputy executive director William Omongole was quoted as saying.

Ugandan manufacturers are looking to spreading their influence in the region and believe they are best placed to take advantage of the opportunities in the Great Lakes region with an estimated population of 107 million, the report added.

Source: Xinhua