FOREIGN POLICY OF TUNISIA

Outline of Tunisian Diplomacy

Principles and Objectives of Tunisian Diplomacy

The foreign policy of Tunisia is based on a number of principles that illustrate Tunisia’s attachment,
as a peace-loving country, to international legality, so as to enhance conditions of understanding,
tolerance and solidarity between States and peoples, confer more justice, democracy and balance
on international relations, and promote security, stability, well-being and progress for the benefit of
humanity.
These principles could be summarized as follows :

 Clinging to international legality as well as to respect of its requirements and decisions;

 Clinging to peace by favouring the logic of dialogue, negotiation and peaceful ways for the
settlement of disputes and conflicts;
 Developing international relations within the context of mutual respect and commitment in favour of
non-interference in internal affairs of other States;
 Supporting just causes;
 Contributing to all efforts and actions in favour of peace, security and stability, human Rights
promotion and fulfilment of well-being and progress for the benefit of humanity in its entirety.
These principles are part of Tunisia’s foreign policy fundamentals. They represent the general
framework of Tunisian diplomacy’s continuous action in the service of Tunisia’s supreme interests,
both at bilateral and multilateral levels, the consolidation of its relations with brotherly and friendly
countries and the reinforcement of its presence and credibility on regional and international scenes.
On the basis of a global and comprehensive approach to international relations based on a close
correlation between the notions of peace, security, stability, development and democracy, the
foreign policy of Tunisia is dedicated, in its various fields of competence, to the fulfilment of the
following goals and objectives:

DEVELOPING AND DIVERSIFYING RELATIONS AND ENHANCING COOPERATION IN VARIOUS

FIELDS WITH THE SPACES TO WHICH TUNISIA BELONGS ON THE BASIS OF A CLOSELY-KNIT
PARTNERSHIP AND INTERDEPENDENCE OF INTERESTS
 Reinvigorating the structures of the AMU as a common natural space of Maghrebi countries as well
as a suitable framework for the implementation of their economic integration and for the
consolidation of their relations with all regional entities, particularly with the European Union;
 Enhancing inter-Arab solidarity, promoting Arab common action and achieving economic
complementarity with other Arab States;
 Consolidating and developing partnership relations with the E.U. in order to increase
complementarity and interdependence of interests;
 Supporting the Euro-Mediterranean process in political, economic, social and cultural fields and
strengthening partnership and solidarity between the countries of Northern and Southern banks of
the Mediterranean;
 Strengthening relations and promoting cooperation with Islamic countries in all fields;
 Consolidating relations with African States in all fields and supporting the African Union;
 Enhancing cooperation relations with European States not members of the European Union as well
as American and Asian countries in order to accelerate the pace of development of Tunisia’s
national economy.
REDUCING ELEMENTS OF TENSION AND CRISES IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND
FOSTERING A FAVOURABLE CLIMATE FOR THE PROMOTION OF PEACE, SECURITY AND
STABILITY IN THE WORLD
 Cooperating in the field of fight against international extremism and terrorism on the basis of a
global and comprehensive approach taking into consideration their different political, economic,
social and cultural causes and within the framework of transparency and consensus.
 Settling in a fair manner principal problems of justice, mainly those of the Palestinian people and
Middle East conflict;
 Introducing reforms in the structures of the United Nations Organization, improving its capacity and
conferring more justice, equity and democracy on international relations inside and outside the
United Nations;
 Consolidating preventive diplomacy and strengthening its mechanisms;
 Containing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
RECTIFYING THE DISEQUILIBRIA CHARACTERIZING INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC
RELATIONS AND ENHANCING COMPLEMENTARITY AND SOLIDARITY PARTNERSHIP
BETWEEN STATES
 Reducing the economic gap between industrialized, developing and less developed countries and
implementing practical solutions to alleviate foreign indebtedness;
 Bridging the digital gap between industrialized and developing countries and giving the latter the
possibility to take advantage of technological changes and computer science revolution;
 Intensifying horizontal cooperation between States and enhancing partnership as an essential 
element of  exchanges of interests and experiences as well as complementarity of interests
between States;
 Consolidating international solidarity in the field of fight against poverty, illiteracy and diseases;
 Enhancing international cooperation in the field of fight against the phenomenon of ecological
degradation and cleanliness of global environment.
Scopes of the foreign policy
The foreign relation Tunisia has is multidimensional. It has its scope in
economic, political and social issues through which the country haves
support from and also shares its part with foreign countries.

Trade
Trade relation is one of the scope areas of Tunisia’s foreign relations. The EU and Tunisia have
close and long-standing trade relations. Tunisia was the first partner in the EU’s
Southern Neighbourhood (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco,
Palestine*, Syria and Tunisia) to sign and implement an Association Agreement with the
EU. The EU is the biggest foreign investor in Tunisia, accounting for 85% of the foreign
direct investment (FDI) stock in the country.
The EU and Tunisia have close and long-standing trade relations. Tunisia was the first
partner in the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon,
Libya, Morocco, Palestine*, Syria and Tunisia) to sign and implement an Association
Agreement with the EU. The EU is the biggest foreign investor in Tunisia, accounting for
85% of the foreign direct investment (FDI) stock in the country.

Democracy and stability

Regarding poltical issues, chiefly, Tunisia has got support from the U.S. Government in its transition
to democracy. In this effort, one of the United States’ priorities is to help Tunisia provide a secure
environment conducive to the development of democratic institutions and practices, and to inclusive
economic growth. The United States also supports Tunisia as it lays the foundation for political
stability and economic prosperity, including efforts to strengthen civil society, empower youth,
support economic reform, and create jobs.

The United States was the first major power to recognize Tunisian sovereignty and established
diplomatic relations with Tunisia in 1956 following its independence from France. On January 14,
2011, a popular revolution began a process of democratic transition that is still underway. A
Constituent Assembly charged with drafting a new constitution was elected in October 2011 in
elections that were considered to be free and fair. Tunisia now faces the challenges of strengthening
the country’s nascent democratic institutions; facilitating constructive popular participation in the
national political process; creating jobs, especially for youth, women, and college graduates;
countering the threat of transnational terrorism and spillover from conflicts in neighboring countries;
and managing increased demands on the national security forces.
Funding and Assistance[edit]
Tunisia receives some of the largest amount of money from the European Neighborhood
Instrument out of all the participating countries with a "focus on different sectors such as the
economy and the business environment; education, training and research; culture and media;
migration and asylum; justice, freedom and security; environment, climate change and energy.".[3] In
addition to funding for migrant relief, Tunisia benefits from several other EU funding projects such as
the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights, Instrument contributing to Stability and
Peace, and the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI). [4] Tunisia is also a member of the
Erasmus+ program and an associate member of Horizon 2020. [5] Flows of foreign direct investment
to Tunisia are also concentrated on the development of the infrastructure network as well as of the
textiles and clothing sectors.
Again, since the January 2011 revolution, the U.S. has committed more than $1.4 billion to
support Tunisia’s transition. U.S. assistance to Tunisia focuses on an array of targeted
areas that include ensuring and enhancing internal and external security, promoting
democratic practices and good governance, and supporting sustainable economic growth.
In 2019 the US and Tunisia signed a five-year bilateral Development Objective Agreement
for USAID to provide up to $335 million to support increased private sector employment
and democratic consolidation.

Economic Relations(Bilateral)
The United States strongly believes that private sector growth and economic opportunity
are keys to Tunisia’s prosperity and long-term stability. The United States and Tunisia
signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement and agreement to implement the Foreign
Accounts Tax Compliance Act in 2019, a Science and Technology Agreement in 2014, a
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in 2002, a Bilateral Investment Treaty
(BIT) in 1990, and a Tax Convention in 1989. In addition, the two countries launched a
high-level Joint Economic Commission (JEC) in 2016. The U.S. Government continues to
support Tunisia’s efforts to attract foreign investment. The best prospects for U.S. exports
and investments in Tunisia are in the information and communication technology, energy,
security, agriculture, franchising, healthcare, and tourism sectors.
 Political and economic successes and difficulties
Tunisia’s development pattern has long stood out on the African continent, thanks to robust
growth, openness to foreign trade and investment in its offshore sector, as well as better
outcomes in health, education, poverty reduction and gender equality compared to its
neighbours. However, the country’s development model has also led to wide regional
disparities, high unemployment among skilled workers, and heavy state intervention in the
economy, which has stifled productivity growth. To kick-start growth, the government needs to
address immediate economic challenges by cleaning up the financial sector and strengthening
the fiscal and monetary policy frameworks. In addition, it should set out a broad structural
reform agenda to boost productivity and make growth more inclusive. The process of
democratic transition initiated in 2011, followed by parliamentary and presidential election under
the new Constitution in late 2014 open an extraordinary window of opportunity to implement
ambitious institutional and structural reforms. An inclusive and broad-based programme of
reforms could result in more transparent, accountable and efficient institutions as well as a
policy framework capable of delivering on the high expectations of Tunisian citizens in terms of
shared prosperity and good governance. Indeed, many of the social, economic and institutional
challenges facing Tunisia are also shared by other countries in the MENA region undergoing
transition and are being addressed with the support of the global community through the
Deauville Partnership, in which the OECD is an active participant. The growth model that
Tunisia had pursued since independence, but before the recent revolution, is often described as
having relied on three main pillars (Paciello, 2011; Hibou, 2011): i) a strong state that
guaranteed stability -- although at a high cost in terms of civil and political liberties and
corruption; ii) an implicit social contract that included an active education and social policy, the
promotion of women’s role in society, and the development of infrastructure; and iii) economic
management based on broad openness to external trade and foreign investment in certain
sectors, but with strategic economic decisions taken by the state. Tunisia’s development model
produced reasonably good macroeconomic results in past, helping the country avoid major
crises sparked by budgetary or external imbalances and keeping inflation under control. A solid
growth performance allowed the country to narrow the gap with the more advanced countries in
GDP per capita and to reduce the incidence of poverty, especially when compared with other
countries in the Mediterranean region (Figure 1.1). Tunisia’s relatively impressive and inclusive
growth record was also achieved thanks to favourable performance in the key areas of health,
education, and infrastructure (Figure 1.2).
However, major problems built up over time, including a rising unemployment rate among the
most qualified workers, widening regional disparities, a growing current account deficit,
unreported public-sector liabilities, poor lending standards in the banking sector, and increasing
use of price controls. The 2011 revolution has laid bare some of these shortcomings, leading to
calls for reform. Tunisia has ample room to boost both productivity growth and employment
rates, while further tackling income inequality and poverty. Success on this front will require
making better use of accumulated human capital. Tunisia needs to reduce its high
unemployment and bring more of the population into the workforce. This is especially true for
women, 60% of whom have secondary or higher education (a rate well above that for other
Middle East and North Africa [MENA] countries) but very low participation and employment
rates of 25% and 20%, respectively. By comparison, 70% of men have a secondary or higher
level of education, and their participation rate is 70%, and their employment rate is above 60%.
There is a need for family-friendly policies both to help improve female labour market
participation and to help Better Policies Series: Tunisia 2015 © OECD 2015 3 families achieve a
work-life balance. This is especially important in light of the important demographic changes in
recent decades. Tunisia also needs to make better use of its skilled workers, especially
graduates, who have a higher unemployment rate than the average person of working age.

Tunisia’s Membership in International Organizations

Tunisia and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations,
including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade
Organization. Tunisia also is a member of the League of Arab States, the Organization of
the Islamic Conference, and the African Union.

Participation of Tunisia in Regional Organization

POLITICAL AND ECONOMICAL TIES :

Even before its independence in 1956, Tunisia has engaged with its African
brothers in the fight against colonialism and apartheid. As a sovereign State, it
gave a special attention to the strengthening of its political and economic ties
with all African countries.

The legal framework governing bilateral cooperation includes more than 300
agreements in different fields of partnership. Besides, the Tunisian
Government offers annually hundreds of fully funded scholarships to African
students and trainers.

As a founding member of the Organization of African Unity, currently the

African Union, Tunisia has played a pioneering role in establishing its pillars
and supported common African action by adhering to the African Union’s
goals and plans aiming to create an integrated, prosperous and stable space
for the African people and the coming generations.
Tunisia is hosting three important African Union bodies : The Pan-African
Institute of Statistics, the Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization and
the Africa Inclusive Markets Excellence Centre.

Fully convinced that an integrated Africa is a strong Africa, Tunisia adhered to

the main economic groupings of the Continent. In this spirit, it has joined in
July 2018, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA),
as a full member and is currently actively engaged in the process of
implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA). Tunisia is
also an observer-member of the Economic Community of States of West
Africa (ECOWAS), since June 2017.
EACE AND SECURITY :

In its efforts to contribute to the consolidation of peace and security in Africa,

Tunisia participated, since the 60’s of the last century, to many UN missions.
Tunisian Blue Helmets are currently deployed within four UN peacekeeping
operations in Africa.

Driven by its deep conviction of a common destiny and the imperative of

coordination and solidarity, Tunisia aspires today to work together with its
African brothers in order to meet the multifaceted challenges facing the
Continent, in particular economic, social and technological development,
climate change, terrorism, human security…

As a member of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union for the
2022-2024 term, Tunisia is committed to continue its efforts to raise the voice
of Africa and defend its causes relying on its late experience as a non-
permanent member of the UN Security Council (2020-2021). Indeed, Tunisia
has endeavored during its mandate, to place African issues at the forefront of
the international community priorities, while defending the values of solidarity
and co-operation in all fields, especially in light of the health crisis resulting
from the COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions on the entire world.
You can use these for your presentation purpose

Political achievements

After the modern Tunisian Republic was founded in 1956, Habib Bourguiba, known as the father
of the nation, tempered the influence of religion, pushed for women’s rights in the Personal
Status Code and created secular, coeducational and bilingual schools, making Tunisia a leading
modern example regionally.

Building on these foundations, following the 2011 Jasmine Revolution Tunisia rose to become a
leading example of a successful post-Arab Spring democracy. Today, Tunisia is among the most
liberal and free countries in the Arab world, boasting regular and reliable elections, multiple
political parties and respect for the rule of law. The press benefits from liberty of expression, and
in 2017 the country became the first Arab country to have an LGBTQ radio station.

In many other respects 2017 was a historic year for Tunisia, as it was in particular for women’s
rights, with Parliament approving a landmark law on violence against women in June.

Also, Tunisia abolished the long-standing ban of Muslim women marrying non-Muslim men.
There was also a call for equal inheritance laws between men and women, to be included in
several reforms that have been postponed until after the May 2018 municipal elections.

These laws have shined a positive light on Tunisia compared to other countries in the region.
Further reforms will shape how the country positions itself on the regional and global stage in the
years to come.

Economic challenges

Tunisia has faced basically three major challenges. The first is to establish political stability and
anchor democracy. The second is to restore security, which has deteriorated since the
revolution in January 2011. The third is to boost economic growth to reduce unemployment,
reverse falling living standards and develop the underprivileged interior regions. The three
challenges are interconnected. Economic underperformance has led to the high rates of
unemployment and exacerbated the sense of hopelessness that led to the revolution and
caused many young Tunisians to take up armed opposition. Stronger economic growth is
therefore crucial to social and political stability, but it will not be easy to achieve.

Even if Tunisia claims to have a market economy, this is not really the case. Much of the
economy is state owned, and the privatisation of big state companies and state banks is not on
the political agenda and, if it were, would be widely opposed, not least by the powerful Union
générale tunisien du travail. Much of the rest of the economy is hamstrung by heavy state
regulation. A recent World Bank report noted that the main reasons for continuing economic
stagnation in Tunisia were structural. It said that the economic structures and heavy regulation
that existed under the former regime fostered corruption, cronyism and the exclusion from
prosperity of most of the population. Worryingly, it said that these structures still existed.

This broken economic model has led to low investment, low productivity and low added value.
There is an urgent need for root and branch reform in every sector of the economy. Agriculture,
for example, is held back by low investment, low levels of mechanisation, outdated practices
and government policies that encourage farmers to produce foodstuffs such as cereals, beef
and milk that are often unsuited to the Tunisian climate and highly uncompetitive in world
markets. The modernisation of agriculture is held back by the fragmentation of holdings, lack
of financing and restrictions on foreign ownership of land. Manufacturing is dominated by low-
added-value subsectors, notably the assembly of clothing and mechanical and electrical goods
from imported components, and has been unable so far to move upmarket into higher-added-
value knowledge-based industries such as information technology and pharmaceuticals. The
mining sector is hugely inefficient and dominated by debt-ridden state monopolies. The oil and
gas sector is restricted by state regulation even though much of the exploration and production
is carried out by foreign firms. Tourism is trapped at the cheap end of the beach-based
package-holiday market, with few high-value products; it also suffers from high levels of debt,
poor training, the lack of a service culture, and a lack of cultural add-ons. Efforts to move the
sector upmarket into golfing, historical, cultural and health tourism have had limited success.
Most commercial services, including retailing, airlines, buses, railways, sea transport, the postal
system, telecommunications and the banks are hugely inefficient, but several are state
monopolies and all are protected by law from open competition.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%