AFP
Tunis


US Secretary of State John Kerry stressed Washington’s support for Tunisia’s young democracy during a “strategic dialogue” yesterday aimed at strengthening the partnership between the allies, including on the economic front.
“The eyes of the world are on Tunisia and America wants Tunisia to succeed,” Kerry said at a joint press conference with his Tunisian counterpart Taieb Baccouche.
“The US remains deeply invested in strengthening Tunisia’s economy,” he added. The United States had given the North African country more than $700mn since its 2011 revolution.   Baccouche said the dialogue, after initial talks last year, involved military, security and economic co-operation.
A US State Department official said earlier that Kerry’s visit was expected to examine a request from Tunis for an additional $500mn in loan guarantees.
Baccouche told reporters that a letter of intent had been signed to this effect, adding that Tunis was seeking a “five-year aid programme”.
During his short visit, Kerry also met members of the National Dialogue Quartet who won the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for their role in promoting a democratic transition after the revolution.
Before flying to Vienna for an international conference on Syria, Kerry also met President Beji Caid Essebsi, Tunisia’s first democratically elected head of state who visited Washington in May seeking more military aid to counter a militant threat.
During the May visit, the United States designated Tunisia a major non-Nato ally.
Since the 2011 revolution that toppled veteran strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has seen a rise in militant violence that has targeted security forces as well as the key tourism industry.
Militant attacks in Tunis and the seaside resort of Sousse in March and June killed 60 people, all but one of them foreign holidaymakers, dealing a heavy blow to the industry which accounts for almost 10% of GDP.
Earlier this year, Tunisia joined the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State militant group that claimed the two attacks.
Tunisia, which has thousands of citizens in the ranks of organisations such as IS, is particularly concerned about the chaos in neighbouring Libya.
This summer, it began building a wall along the border with Libya that is expected to run some 200km.
“Libya is a concern for Tunisia. The support of the United States would be welcome to help us secure the borders,” Baccouche said.
With negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations yet to bear fruit, Kerry said he spoke on Thursday with the new UN envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler of Germany.
“ISIL obviously has tried to spread his tentacles into Libya,” Kerry said, using an alternative acronym for IS.
Kerry said that in talks with Western officials he had raised the prospect of an international conference on Libya, “possibly sometime in the next months”.