About the  Conference:

Deeply concerned about the endemic conflicts and persistent insecurity in the Great Lakes Region , 11 Heads of State and Government of the Great Lakes Region, met in Dar Es-Salaam, on 19 and 20 November 2004, under the auspices of the United Nations and the African Union. 

The Presidents of Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia declared:  

• their collective determination to transform the Great Lakes Region into a space of sustainable peace and      security for States and peoples, political and social stability, shared growth and development, a space of cooperation based on the strategies and policies of convergence within the framework of a common destiny which they are determined to build, in line with the aspirations of their peoples, in conformity also with the AU Vision and  Mission, with the full participation of all their peoples, and in partnership with the United Nations, the African Union, and the International Community as a whole.