Ahmadinejad said Tehran is ready to help Burundi in efforts to rebuild the country.

In a meeting with visiting Burundian Foreign Minister Augustin Nsanze, Ahmadinejad also said he is happy with growing ties between Iran and Burundi, expressing hope that ties would expand in many areas.

The president added all groups in Burundi should “join hands” to develop their country.

Nsanze handed a message from his country’s president to Ahmadinejad.

Burundi is emerging from a 12-year, ethnic-based civil war. Since independence in 1961, it has been plagued by tension between the dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority.

The ethnic violence sparked off in 1994 made Burundi the scene of one of Africa's most intractable conflicts.

It is now beginning to reap the dividends of a peace process. But it faces the formidable tasks of reviving a shattered economy and of forging national unity.

The government and the last active rebel group signed a ceasefire in May 2008.