Tunisia president receives Saudi minister for African affairs

Tunisian President Kais Saied yesterday received a Saudi delegation led by the Saudi Minister of State for African Affairs, Ahmed Qattan, the presidency said in a statement.

During the meeting, Saied reiterated his thanks to Saudi Arabia for the assistance it offered Tunisia politically, economically and in the health sector.

The Saudi king recently directed the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) to urgently supply oxygen and other medical supplies to help Tunisia fight COVID-19.

The aid included 3,000 oxygen cylinders, oxygen generators for five Tunisian hospitals, containers to transport 200 tonnes of liquid oxygen, and special oxygen support supplies.

In turn, the Saudi minister affirmed: “the Kingdom’s keenness to continue to stand by Tunisia and to provide all the required support to the Tunisian people in all fields”.

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The Tunisian president also stressed that “there is no room for going back”, with regards to the exceptional measures that he took last month, saying they “aim to protect the Tunisian state from collapse in light of the unprecedented crisis facing the country and put an end to choices that had increased the people’s misery and poverty and deprived them of their strength and resources.”

On 25 July, Tunisian President Kais Saied cited Article 80 of the constitution to dismiss Prime Minister Hicham Mechichi, freeze the work of parliament for 30 days, lift the immunity of ministers, and appoint himself as head of the executive authority until the formation of a new government.

This comes after violent protests broke out in several Tunisian cities criticising the government’s handling of the economy and the coronavirus. Demonstrators had called for parliament to be dissolved.

The majority of the country’s political parties slammed the move as a “coup against the constitution” and the achievements of the 2011 revolution.