The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad , Nabil Ammar, co-chaired, with the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, Lord Tariq Ahmed,  the Second Session of the Association Council between Tunisia and United Kingdom, held in London yesterday, Thursday, October 12, 2023.

This bilateral event was an opportunity to value the excellent relations between the two countries and express their common desire to further strengthen these relations, in their mutual interest, stated the Tunisian Foreign Ministry.

During this session, the decisions, setting up the work mechanisms of the Association Council, were also adopted, which would help to increase the efficiency of the Council work and achieve a step into the transformation in the cooperation and partnership between both countries in various sectors.

In the same context, a particular emphasis was put on the importance of joint work in order to take advantage of the preferential advantages and opportunities offered by the Tunisia-UK association agreement, signed in October 2019, which is the first of its kind in North Africa. Both sides also agreed to continue examining practical ways to further develop bilateral trade, especially with regards to Tunisian exports of olive oil, agri-food products and textile.

The British side expressed its interest in strengthening partnerships and investments in Tunisia, particularly in the fields of new technologies and renewable energies, and its willingness to support the energy transition policy of Tunisia, by seizing the opportunities offered by the memorandum of understanding between Tunisia and UK on the development of renewable energies, which was signed back in June 2022.

In the same context, agreement was reached on the participation of Tunisia at senior level in the Second Africa Investment Summit, which is due to take place in London in April 2024, in the presence of 24 African countries, including Tunisia.

During the working lunch hosted by Lord Ahmed in his honor on this occasion, the Tunisian Minister reaffirmed Tunisia's principled and firm position on the Palestinian cause, which was clearly stated during the emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers, held in Cairo on 11 October 2023.