The perspectives of bilateral relations with Korea
This year Tunisia and Korea are celebrating 45th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations characterized since March 1969, by friendship and mutual respect. Today, Korea is among the countries that have
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| ▲ H.E. Mohamed Ali Nafti, Amb. of Tunisia | ||
Political breakthrough
On January 26th, 2014, the National Constituent Assembly adopted by a large consensus after two years of debate a New Constitution ushering an era of a the rule of Law, liberty and dignity for all Tunisians to build a brighter future for the country. This progressive constitution which confirms the Arab and Muslim identity of Tunisia while preserving the civil nature of the state, guarantees freedom of worship and separation of powers, recognizes gender equality and Guarantees right of free expression and association, and a free press.
This constitutional achievement in Tunisia has been largely praised by the international community, among them South Korea. Many of them consider that the new constitution that is deeply rooted in democratic principles - equality, freedom, and the rule of law- has paved the way to the holding of transparent and fair general election scheduled in the last quarter of 2014. Those elections will lead the country to a phase of political stability based on permanent democratic institutions. For this purpose, an independent election body has already been set up and a new electoral code with all guarantees of transparency and fairness is to be adopted shortly.
The installation of a new government on January 29th, 2014, made up of independent technocrats was meant to assure more focus on economic and security levels and henceforth to prepare an appropriate environment for fair and transparent elections.
Henceforth, Tunisia shares the same values of democracy and transparency with its partners thanks to its New Constitution and its active and vigilant Civil Society deeply involved and committed to the success of the transition to a genuine and irreversible democracy. In fact, all constitutional debates were recorded in Twitter…And when the Constituent Assembly was compiling that nation’s new Constitution, young Tunisians under an NGO called “Bawsala” were using the full range of technological tools to ensure a degree of transparency never seen before in such political processes which meant that anyone outside the hemicycle could follow the debates…
Tunisia is now poised to be a stable democracy and to strengthen therefore its status as one of the most attractive economic hubs of the Mediterranean and African region.
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| ▲ Sidi Busaid (Courtesy: Embassy of Tunisia in Seoul) | ||
On the aftermath of this political breakthrough in Tunisia, the investment flows are expected to grow dramatically in the short and long run to enjoy the continuously improving business environment and to grasp the opportunities of investment and partnerships.
Tunisia which is ranked on top of North African countries according the ease of doing business ranking enjoy an attractive business environment thanks to its confirmed assets such as its strategic location (only 1-2.5 hours away from major European capitals), its pool of engineers, and its world class infrastructure.
In addition, the Tunisian site offers tremendous investment opportunities in promising sectors like power generation, renewable energy, aeronautics, automotive & transportation, and ICT & telecommunications…
The trade exchanges between Tunisia and Korea in 2013 amounted more than 400 million USD out of them 244 million USD Korean imports from Tunisia, are also expected to rise in the future as there is a greater interest of the Korean market to attract more Tunisian products especially agro-food, garment., electrical equipments…
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| ▲ Camel travel | ||
Many specialized magazines have considered Tunisia as the Next Big Travel Destination. As a matter of fact, the Australian magazine Perth Now Travel ranked the Tunisian Island of Djerba fourth in the list of the world's new top 10 hottest cities for international tourists.
Tunisia is not only known of its idyllic sandy beaches, but also for its wide range of tourist products, such as:
Health tourism, which is already the principal magnet for many tourists. Today Tunisia is amongst the top world destinations for Thalassotherapy (medical treatment with sea water).
Leisure tourism, with nearly twenty modern courses along the country, golf tourism is another potential niche which attracts a wealthy clientele from all over the world, with one unique golf course located in the heart of the desert. Travelers can also enjoy several kinds of sport activities including sailing, windsurfing, water-skiing, and camel & horseback riding.
Cultural tourism, Tunisia has outstanding historical treasures, including over 20. 000 archeological sites and hundreds of monuments, museums, with many world heritage sites.
Saharan tourism, Tunisia is practically among the few countries in the world which can offer its visitors the impressive Sahara desert offering unique sceneries of mountain villages & oases and unforgettable ramblings.
Eco-tourism, from north to south, many national parks and natural reserves of rare species.
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| ▲ Tunis, capital of Tunisia | ||
Growing Cultural and educational exchanges
Tunisia like Korea has a very vivid and dynamic cultural life and it Tunisia is known for its openness to the foreign cultures and among them Korean wave. In fact, according to Global Hallyu Data 2013, published by the Korea Foundation (KF), the biggest growth was in Africa and the Middle East where the number of fans increased three-fold to 60,000, while fan clubs almost doubled to 76 from 36 by country, Tunisia has the most fan clubs with 25.
Furthermore, the number of Tunisian students enrolled in prestigious Korean universities such as the National Institute for International Education (NIIED), Seoul National University, KAIST, Kyunghee University has grown 120% in 2013 compared to their number in 2012…This reflects that the cooperation in the sensitive field of higher education is on the right track and I am convinced their number will grow further in the coming years.
Cultural and educational exchanges between Tunisia and South Korea are expected to increase in near future thanks to the willingness of both parties through the signing last December of a MoU on cultural exchange and the intensification of youth and fellowship programs between the two countries.
As Ambassador of Tunisia, I have always considered that culture and education are solid pillars of comprehensive and long-lasting friendly relations between peoples and Nations. And since the beginning of my tenure, I have witnessed with great admiration the commitment of the Korean civil society backed by the public institutions, in promoting the Korean cultural heritage and in offering the opportunity to foreigners to diffuse their respective cultures.
Mohamed Ali Nafti
Ambassador of Tunisia