Minister Zaharieva: Tunisia Becomes Successful Image of Transition to Democracy
05 October 2018 News
“I would like to congratulate the Tunisian people and Government on their country being the only one in the region to complete the passage from a totalitarian regime to democratic society and to thereby become the successful image of transition,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva told her Tunisian counterpart Khemaies Jhinaoui during a press conference. He is on an official two-day visit to our country at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister Zaharieva. “This is the first visit to Bulgaria by a Tunisian Foreign Minister in 23 years,” she recalled.
Minister Zaharieva asserted that the two countries have maintained a warm relationship for more than 60 years. “We are proud that our specialists built dams, factories, and housing in modern Tunisia, and we are now prepared to share with you the experience from our transition,” she said.
“Your teachers and doctors have built a good reputation in Tunisia and it is our hope today that Bulgaria will become our voice in Europe. Regrettably, the cooperation between the two countries does not correspond to the importance each one of them attaches to the other,” Minister Jhinaoui said.
“In the first place, the Joint Economic Commission, which has not met since 2010, could be summoned as soon as possible,” Minister Zaharieva said and went on to outline several specific initiatives. Among these was the setting up of a Bulgarian-Tunisian economic chamber. One other step that could also have a positive impact on tackling youth unemployment in Tunisia would be the hiring of local workers by the Bulgarian technological industries.
The education and scientific exchange is also important and can be facilitated by both countries using the Erasmus + and Horizon 2020 European programmes to rebuild their good ties in this sphere, Minister Zaharieva said. Bulgaria and Tunisia can also share their experience in tourism. “The opening of a direct air link between the two countries will be a good beginning,” Minister Zaharieva noted.
At the end of the meeting, she congratulated Tunisia on its peace efforts in its region and outlined the possibilities for cooperation between the two countries in this sphere, “because Tunisia is in a position to provide a candid assessment of what is going on in countries like Libya,” she said.
Asked about an all-European solution to the problem with illegal migration, Minister Zaharieva pointed out that Tunisia is an important partner of the EU, but our efforts should be focused on the underlying reasons that push the region’s young people to migrate: “This can be achieved by security, education, equal rights, and jobs,” she explained.
The two Ministers also discussed the social status of the Bulgarian education experts in Tunisia. “I hope that, as we discussed today, we would be able to find a solution to the problem with the remuneration of the Bulgarian teachers in Tunisia,” Minister Zaharieva said.
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