BUJUMBURA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is a very good opportunity to deepen cooperation and relations between China and Africa, said Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza on Tuesday.

Nkurunziza told Chinese media in an interview that he is very grateful for inviting Burundi to participate in this year's FOCAC summit to be held in Beijing.

Burundi is very willing to take part in this important event, he said.

Nkurunziza said since the founding of FOCAC, China has been providing great support for Africa to help promote the development of the region through the forum, from which Burundi has benefited a lot.

He said the upcoming FOCAC summit is a good opportunity for Burundi and China to deepen the bilateral cooperation based on mutual trust and mutual benefits, and a great chance for other African countries to expand their cooperation with China.

FOCAC was formally established in 2000 under the joint initiative of China and Africa with the purpose of further strengthening friendly cooperation between China and African countries.