Iran welcomes African states progress

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in a meeting with Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza underlined Tehran's positive look at the African countries and its support for their progress."Iran welcomes African states' progress and development as well as unity among them," Ayatollah Khamenei said in Tehran on Wednesday.He also underlined the African Union (AU)'s important role, and said, "The AU can be a center of might for all African states and the Islamic Republic of Iran supports more convergence in the Union."Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the hostile actions taken by certain European states and the US, including exercise of various plots and colonialism against the African nations, and said, "We hope that the future of Africa, including Burundi, will be better and with increasing progress."He also welcomed the development of ties between Iran and Burundi.Burundi is a country located in central Africa. Its capital is Bujumbura and it is bordered by Uganda, Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration has striven hard to maximize relations with the African continent during the last decade.Iran is now an observing member of the AU and has shown an active presence in previous AU summit meetings.The country is considered as one of the AU's strategic partners along with India, Japan, China, several South American states and Turkey, while Tehran is also believed to be prioritizing promotion of its economic and political ties with the African states.