Tunisia:  EU Commissioner ready to continue providing political and economic support

President Kais Saied affirmed during his meeting today with Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Policy, at the Carthage Palace, the Presidency of the Republic announced on Tuesday.

He said “his adhering to the values of democracy, freedom and respect for human rights” and that he “reviewed the reasons that led to the adoption of a number of exceptional measures and arrangements for the protection of the state, in addition to the decisions announced in December 2021.”

In its issued statement published on its Facebook page, the presidency quoted from Saied his “recall of his repeated appeals, on many occasions, to adopt a comprehensive approach to tackling the phenomenon of irregular migration, in order for solutions not be limited to security ones only, but rather to address their deep causes”.

The presidency added that Saied “also expressed Tunisia’s satisfaction with the strength of its strategic partnership relations with the European Union, and Tunisia’s aspiration to further develop and diversify these relations to cover new and promising sectors in several fields. This may reflect the depth of the distinguished historic ties between them, and reinforce their firm belief in the concept of fruitful cooperation and constructive exchange, to achieve common interest and build a better future for both parties.

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Saied “pointed out the European Union’s keenness to always stand by Tunisia,” which was “demonstrated during the last period through European support for the national efforts to face the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic and social repercussions”.

The presidency indicated that Varhelyi, for his part, “expressed the European Union’s satisfaction with the existing level of cooperation with Tunisia in the field of facing irregular migration and his readiness to increase the volume of financial and logistical support designated to Tunisia for this purpose”.

He reconfirmed that “the European Union’s keenness to further deepen the solid partnership and cooperation relations that brings it together with Tunisia in various fields.” Varhelyi also “stressed his readiness to continue providing political and economic support to our country, and to encourage investment in it, as well as standing with and supporting Tunisia in implementing a set of major reforms that it intends to apply.”

The presidency indicated that the meeting “also tackled a number of regional and international issues of common interest” and that “they discussed their consequences on the security and stability of the region.”

The presidency affirmed that Varhelyi announced, after the meeting, a number of decisions approved by the European Union relating to support for Tunisia, especially in the financial, economic and scientific levels.

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