- Foreign relations of Tunisia
President
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has maintainedTunisia 's long-time policy of seeking good relations with the West, while playing an active role inArab andAfrica n regional bodies. PresidentHabib Bourguiba took a nonaligned stance but emphasized close relations withEurope and theUnited States .Tunisia has long been a voice for moderation and realism in the
Middle East . President Bourguiba was the first Arab leader to call for the recognition ofIsrael in a speech inJericho in 1965. Tunisia served as the headquarters of theArab League from 1979 to 1990 and hosted thePalestine Liberation Organization 's (PLO) headquarters from 1982 to 1993, when the PLO Executive Committee relocated to Jericho and thePalestinian Authority was established after the signing of theOslo Accords . (The PLO Political Department remains inTunis .) Tunisia consistently has played a moderating role in the negotiations for a comprehensive Middle East peace. In 1993, Tunisia was the first Arab country to host an official Israeli delegation as part of the Middle East peace process and maintained an Interests Section until the outbreak of the 2000Intifada . Israeli citizens of Tunisian descent may travel to Tunisia on their Israeli passports.Wedged between
Algeria andLibya , Tunisia has sought to maintain good relations with its neighbors despite occasionally strained relations. Tunisia and Algeria resolved a longstanding border dispute in 1993 and have cooperated in the construction of the Trans-Mediterranean natural gas pipeline through Tunisia that connects Algeria toItaly . Tunisia recently signed an agreement with Algeria to demarcate the maritime frontier between the two countries.Tunisia's relations with Libya have been erratic since Tunisia annulled a brief agreement to form a union in 1974. Diplomatic relations were broken in 1976, restored in 1977, and deteriorated again in 1980, when Libyan-trained rebels attempted to seize the town of
Gafsa . In 1982, theInternational Court of Justice ruled in Libya's favor in the partition of the oil-rich continental shelf it shares with Tunisia. Libya's 1985 expulsion of Tunisian workers and military threats led Tunisia to sever relations. Relations were normalized again in 1987. While supporting theUN sanctions imposed following airline bombings, Tunisia has been careful to maintain positive relations with its neighbor. Tunisia supported the lifting of UN sanctions against Libya in 2003, and Libya is again becoming a major trading partner. Currently, Tunisia has a maritime dispute with Libya.Tunisia has supported the development of the
Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), which includes Algeria,Morocco ,Mauritania , and Libya. Progress onMaghreb integration remains stymied, however, as a result of bilateral tensions between some member countries.Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration.In May, 2005, Tunisia signed with
Iran an agreement for cooperation in air, sea, and road transportation. It was signed on the visit of Tunisian minister Abderrahim Zouari to Iran. [" [http://english.people.com.cn/200505/16/eng20050516_185148.html Iran, Tunisia sign deal on transportation cooperation] ," "People's Daily Online", May 16, 2005.]Tunisia enjoy's good relations with
Serbia and are important trading partners. Tunisia is a hugely popular tourist destination for Serbs as there is no visa required for Serb nationals entering the country.Foreign Ambassadors
*
Farid Abboud Lebanese Ambassador to Tunisia (2007-present)Footnotes
ee also
*
Diplomatic missions of Tunisia
*List of diplomatic missions in Tunisia
*Tunisia-Pakistan relations
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.