Speech by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali before the members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Tunis Carthage, January 23, 2003 In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate Mr. Doyen, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, It gives me great pleasure to have this meeting with you today, at the dawn of the new year, to exchange wishes with you on this occasion, and to ask you to convey my best wishes of constant happiness and success to the leaders of your countries, and of continuous progress and prosperity to your peoples. I also would like to express my great consideration for the constant efforts you are exerting to reinforce and enrich the relations of cooperation between Tunisia and your countries in all fields. I would like to thank His Excellency the Doyen for the noble feelings he has extended in his address to Tunisia and to its people, and I take this opportunity to express to you and to all members of the Diplomatic Corps my deep consideration, hoping that the new year will bring you all good and happiness. Mr. Doyen, Excellencies, For our country, the previous year was rich in achievements: the policy of comprehensive reform was reinforced, the foundations of the democratic pluralist process were corroborated and the protection of human rights and of individual and public liberties was consolidated. The previous year witnessed also a major constitutional reform for the16 construction of the Republic of Tomorrow, a reform that was unanimously approved by the people in a general referendum held for the first time in Tunisia’s history. We have indeed started translating into fact the new provisions of the constitution, as regards the consecration of the plurality of candidacies in the coming presidential elections, the regular revision of electoral rolls, the enactment of laws reinforcing the legislative function, the establishment of the Chamber of Counselors, the further consolidation of the values of human rights and the extension of the scope of their protection, in such a way as to preserve the dignity of the individual and to protect the inviolability of personal data. During the previous year, we managed to achieve positive economic results, despite the adverse effects of climatic conditions and the state of stagnation recently characterizing, the world economy. During this second year of the tenth five-year development plan, our country will continue its development process with confidence and determination, in order to enable our economy to adapt to all possible developments and to preserve the complementarity between the economic and social dimensions. In so doing, we rely on our national capabilities and on our own potentialities, as well as on cooperation with friendly countries in the framework of solidarity-based partnership and mutual interests. Mr. Doyen, Excellencies, Our commitment to the Maghreb edifice is one of our basic and constant options. We have indeed endeavored to reinforce the relations of brotherliness and cooperation with the Maghreb countries. Since the creation of the Maghreb Union in 1989, we have spared no effort to promote common Maghrebi action, and to endeavor, together with our brothers the leaders of the states of the region, to transcend 17circumstantial difficulties and to materialize the aspirations of our peoples for complementarity and unity. The results achieved by the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Maghreb Union in its last session held in Algiers on January 3-4, 2003 raise hopes that the Union would regain its dynamism, so that it can hold the status it merits in the regional and international environments. At the same time, we are stepping up efforts to develop Arab common action, to reinforce its institutions and to materialize the projects of Arab economic integration, chief among which being the establishment of the free-trade zone. We will also pursue our endeavors to consolidate our relations with the brotherly Islamic states and to increase cooperation with them in all fields, in order to face the common challenges, in the framework of the noble values and aspirations of the Islamic world as a whole. As regards our African environment, we are keen on reinforcing the relations of cooperation and solidarity with African states, on the bilateral level and in the framework of the African Union, in order to ensure appropriate conditions to integrate our economies in a coherent space. We believe that the delicate transitory period that our Continent is going through necessitates a serious and effective assistance from the international community, through its active support to the NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development), in order to enable some of our African countries to overcome the difficulties they are currently confronting and to be wholly devoted to development and construction. Moreover, Tunisia attaches a great importance to its relations with the European Union, especially that the association agreement between our country and the European community has reached an important stage in the process of its implementation; the aim being to serve the common18 interests, to contribute to the achievement of comprehensive, solidarity-based development, and to reinforce the climate of security and stability in the Mediterranean basin. In this context, we are determined to best prepare our national economy for its integration within the Euro-Mediterranean space, and to win the stakes of this partnership which we consider a fundamental choice for the future of our country. As a consecration of this orientation, Tunisia contributes to promoting the 5+5 dialogue whose summit our country will host in 2003, so that the Euro-Mediterranean space will be one of security, peace and prosperity, and a bridge that links the different cultures and civilizations of the peoples of the region. Tunisia will also pursue its efforts to reinforce the bonds of friendship and cooperation with friendly countries in Asia and America, based on the common values and mutual interests between Tunisia and these countries. In today’s world, the increase of the hotbeds of tension and conflicts, the intensification of the hazards of extremism and terrorism, and the propagation of diseases, destitution and exclusion in many countries, are all a great source of worry and preoccupation for us. The events of September 11, 2001 have had adverseconsequences on international relations, and on security and stability in the world; this stresses the need for the international community to step up efforts in order to come up with common solutions to all the problems, in the forefront of which the prompt holding of an international conference, under the aegis of the United Nations, to establish a code of ethics committing all states, to combat terrorism. In this regard, we had called for the establishment of a responsible dialogue that transcends double standards and opens the way for a better management of world affairs. Speech by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali before the members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Tunis (15 January 2002) Foreign Policy Speech by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (29 January 2001) Foreign Policy Speech by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (27 January 2000) Adress by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali at the Ceremony for the Accreditation of New Foreign Ambassadors (13 January 2000) Speech by President Ben Ali at the closing of the annual conference of the heads of diplomatic and consular missions (25 August 99) Foreign Policy Speech by President Ben Ali (28 January 99)