US President George Bush is toning down US ties with President Yoweri Museveni's government, a US intelligence gathering group has said.

The US is instead seeking closer ties with President Museveni's erstwhile enemy, Sudanese President, Gen. Omar al Bashir, and Uganda's neighbours, Kenya's Arap Moi and Ethiopia's Meles Zinawi.

According to a Jan. 10 analysis by Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor), an intelligence gathering group comprising the Economist Intelligence Unit, Fox News Channel, America Insurance Group (AIG) and Periscope, the re-alignment will affect the economic, political and security affairs of the region.

"The U.S. government is building closer ties with Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan, thereby reducing its reliance on ally Uganda," said the analysis.

It adds, "For example, chances for the resolution of the civil war in Sudan will improve while a more marginalized Uganda might suffer a decline in investment from U.S. and European firms. But by boosting the clout of nations like Ethiopia and Sudan, Washington may see less cooperation from countries such as Uganda, complicating the counter terrorism effort."

Stratfor bases its analysis on the just concluded Inter Governmental Agency for Development (IGAD), and says that the summit's discussion on counter terrorist measures, was supposed to illustrate the emerging realignment in the "East African political dynamic".

"Washington, in an attempt to advance U.S. goals, is seeking closer ties with countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan. In the process, it is reshaping regional geopolitics," said a summary of the analysis.

The 9th IGAD summit involving seven East African countries -- Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda - from Jan. 10 to Jan. 11 in Khartoum, discussed the Sudanese peace initiative, the Somali reconciliation process and establishment of a regional mechanism for fighting terrorism.

Strafor said that little progress was likely on the first two issues.

"In an effort to secure its foreign policy goals in the campaign against terrorism, Washington is prompting a realignment of political allegiances across East Africa," said the analysis.

The Secretary for Public Affairs at the US embassy, Mary Jeffers said she was officially not aware of US policy shift in the region.

But the BBC reported Jan.14 that Sudanese rebels and government representatives are meeting for secret talks at an undisclosed location in Switzerland to discuss ways of securing a ceasefire in Sudan's 18-year-old civil war over this week, marking the first time the US is directly involved in mediating Sudan's peace process.

Bush appointed John Danforth as US special envoy Sudan in September, following the lifting of UN sanctions on Sudan to which the US did not object.

Uganda's ambassador to Washington Ms Edith Ssempala, however, said US relations with Sudan are unlikely to affect Uganda.

"Our relations [with the U.S.] have been good and strong, and they should continue. Our relations are based on us, and not on the fact that we have bad relations with others," she said. "Even Uganda is trying to improve relations with Sudan."

Asked about the IGAD talks, Ssempala said: "My understanding is that the [IGAD] meeting was progressive, it was a step in the right direction. That should be applauded. Uganda is not a country that wants to have stagnation or bad relations. We therefore welcome United States working toward an Africa that has better relations. That means that Comesa, of which Sudan is a member, will benefit, and our market will benefit. That cannot be bad for Uganda."