KAMPALA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday said the recent signing of the peace agreement between rival factions in South Sudan will ensure that peace prevails in the region and refugees return home.

"We hope that with the UN support in regards to food and basic essentials, the refuges could return home by January and take advantage of the rains that start in March in order to grow some food," Museveni said, according to a State House statement issued here.

Museveni said this during his one-day working visit to neighboring Tanzania where he met his counterpart John Magufuli.

Museveni said that the conflict in South Sudan has affected trade and retarded development.

Magufuli commended Museveni, who is one of the guarantors of the South Sudan peace process, for his efforts to bring peace to the East African country.

Uganda is host to over 1 million South Sudan refugees who have fled fighting back home since December 2013, when troops loyal to President Salva Kiir fought with those of the then vice president Riek Machar.

The two leaders Kiir and Machar this week signed a peace agreement to end years of war and conflict.