Tanzania reopens embassy after nine-year closure

Tanzania reopened its embassy in neighbouring Burundi after a nine-year closure it attributed to "financial constraint", the Burundi news agency, ABP, reported Ambassador Francis Mndolwa as having said on Thursday in the capital, Bujumbura. Mndolwa had come to present his credentials to Burundi President Domitien Ndayizeye. Mndolwa said the decision to reopen the embassy was based on an improved economic situation in Tanzania. According to ABP, Mndolwa told reporters at a news conference that because of his military background, he did not fear the social and political situation in Burundi, and that he was eager to participate in the settlement of the Burundian conflict. "We are currently involved in very important discussions," he was quoted as saying. "At times, the talks seem not to advance and the Tanzanian delegation intervenes and tries to talk to all the parties, tries to convince them to return to the negotiation table to discuss and find solutions." The Tanzanian commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, is scheduled to host a major regional conference on Monday aimed at ending a decade of civil war in Burundi. "We had been here until 1994. However, due to financial constraint, we closed our embassies in several countries," ABP quoted him as saying. "Today, the economic situation is better, we have returned to our former embassy."