1 February 2018

French President Macron visits Tunisia

French President Emmanuel Macron was in Tunisia on 31 January and 1 February. During the two-day official trip, the French president has addressed the Assembly, attended an economic summit, and held discussions on trade and security cooperation between the two countries. Macron has committed to ensure that France would possibly double its investments in the country over five years. Macron renewed France’s commitment to contribute to bolster Tunisian economy and support its transition to democracy. Specifically, Macron pledged more than €270 million  in new financing, additional €500 million to a €1.2 billion plan for sustainable development extending from 2016 to 2020, and the creation of a €50 million fund to spur initiatives by young entrepreneurs. “The challenge which is yours today is to transform this cultural and democratic spring into a political, economic and social spring,” Macron claimed. The French President also announced in his speech in front of the Tunisian Assembly that France would sponsor a conference gathering governmental and civil society actors from Euro-Mediterranean countries this year in France in order to launch a dialogue on a common Mediterranean project. You can access his complete speech in Parliament here.

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