The Tunisian Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad, Mohamed Ali Nafti, said on Tuesday 13 April that it was necessary to modernise the tools of the EU-Tunisia relationship.
At a hearing in the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of State, standing in for the Minister at short notice, explained that, in a world of constant change, “the instruments and mechanisms intended for our partnership may no longer be able to provide an effective response to our partnership”. According to him, the two parties are therefore “faced with the urgent need to deepen our partnership both in terms of ideas and (financial) allocations to Tunisia”.
Mr Nafti stressed Tunisia’s commitment to continuing to be anchored in the Euro-Mediterranean area, both in the economic field and that of research and education, citing the Erasmus plus, Horizon Europe and Creative Europe programmes. “We will ensure the preservation of the space for our shared values through the promotion of rapprochement at a personal level, through culture, youth mobility - essentially through these programmes”, he explained.
He added that his country was ready to put its expertise and geostrategic positioning at the service of EU-Africa cooperation in key sectors such as the dual energy and technology transition, scientific research and student mobility. Mr Nafti was keen to stress mobility, which is “a fundamental point in our relations” with the EU (see EUROPE 12678/8).
The Secretary of State also thanked the EU and its Member States for the “exceptional support” given to Tunisia’s efforts in the fight against Covid-19 (see EUROPE 12519/3), counting on the support of the Europeans “to ensure the best conditions for success in the economic recovery phase”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)