On the occasion of the 8^th Tunisian-Spanish high-level meeting, co-chaired by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his Tunisian counterpart Youssef Chahed, eight bilateral cooperation agreements were signed between Tunisia and Spain. The meeting took place in Tunis on 26 February and is an important step forwards in Tunisia-Spain bilateral relations. According to Spanish Government official website, the summit had three main objectives: supporting the ongoing democratization process in Tunisia, consolidating and improving the position of Spain as an economic partner and investor of Tunisia, and fostering cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the management of migratory flows.

Among the eight agreements signed, there is one on fight against organized crime, one partnership agreement in higher education and scientific research, one partnership agreement in agriculture, water, environment and climate change, and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the cooperation in informations technologies and communications. The two countries also signed a partnership deal on civil protection and a MoU of combating violence against women.

“This meeting held under the sign of an innovative strategic partnership comes 10 years after the last session of 2008,” said Chahed, adding it is “a timely opportunity to expand our bilateral partnership in all areas.” “The high-level meeting has been crowned by a joint declaration that aims, mainly, at promoting Tunisian-Spanish cooperation in all fields,” said Chahed. For his part, Rajoy said that there is a potential growth in trade between the two countries. “Spanish companies are becoming more global, and Tunisia benefits from its comparative advantage of strategic geographical position,” said Rajoy. “Spain invests nearly 1.3 billion dinars (EUR 400 million) in Tunisia, and it is Tunisia’s fifth largest exporter and sixth largest importer,” said the Spanish prime minister. Rajoy also reiterated his country’s support for the success of the democratic and economic transition in Tunisia.