Day: July 16, 2023

In a speech delivered at the Carthage Palace on Sunday on the occasion of the signing ceremony for the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the “strategic and comprehensive partnership between Tunisia and the European Union”, President Kais Saied said that the memorandum underscored the need for closer ties between peoples at a time when the peoples of the world are seeking synergy and cooperation.

President Saied stressed the need for this memorandum to be “accompanied as soon as possible by a set of binding agreements based on the principles set out therein”.

“We are determined to implement the contents of the memorandum as quickly as possible”, added the Head of State, stressing that the countries “want real equality and do not want kindness without respect”.

On the issue of migration and migrants, President Kais Saied said: “Today we need a collective agreement on inhumane migration and on the displacement processes behind which criminal networks hide.

President Kais stated that the solution to the issue of irregular migrants and their conditions can only be collective by eliminating the causes before tackling the results.

The Head of State commended the Tunisians for the help they had given to regular migrants from sub-Saharan countries, saying that they had given migrants “everything that can be given with unlimited generosity”, while the organisations dealing with these migrants were “only making progress through data”.

At a press briefing attended by President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Italian Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, and Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, the Head of State also said that among the challenges facing countries today was “the need to find new ways of cooperating outside the framework of the global monetary system that was set up after the Second World War…”.

President Saied said that the system “has divided the world in two, half for the rich and half for the poor”, adding that “it is no longer possible for this monetary system to continue in the same form and content”.

President Kais Saied criticised this global monetary system, saying it “creates darkness wherever it wants”, while Tunisia “seeks to shine a new Sun on the whole world”¡.

“Tunisia does not have intercontinental missiles, but it does have sovereignty over oceans and continents”, added the Head of State, pointing out that Tunisia is looking to a new future “to realise the hopes of every human being”.

On June 11, at the Carthage Palace, a joint declaration was signed between Tunisia and the European Union, at a meeting attended by President of the Republic, Kais Saied, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Italian Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, and Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte.

The joint declaration includes an agreement to work together on a “comprehensive partnership package” to strengthen the ties between the two parties in the common interest of both.

/ The comprehensive partnership will cover the following areas :

/ Strengthening economic and trade relations

/ Establishing a partnership in the field of sustainable and competitive energy

/ Immigration

/ Bringing people closer together.

The press release also states that the joint political dialogue between the EU and Tunisia, within the framework of the Tunisia-EU Partnership Council, will constitute, before the end of 2023, an important opportunity to revitalise political and institutional relations in order to face common international challenges together and preserve an international order based on the rules of law.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Migration, Tunisians Abroad and the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement have been tasked with preparing a memorandum of understanding on a comprehensive partnership package to be adopted by Tunisia and the European Union before the end of June 2023″, adds the press release.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, confirmed on Sunday that the agreement with Tunisia includes a set of measures under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on strategic and comprehensive partnership, which will be implemented, following up on her statement in this context, “we will allocate pound 100 million in EU funding to work towards deepening partnership and cooperation in the areas of search and rescue, border management, the fight against trafficking in citizens and law enforcement”.

In a speech delivered today at the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding on the “strategic and comprehensive partnership between Tunisia and the European Union”, Ursula von der Leyen said that these efforts were part of the effort to facilitate legal migration, stressing the importance of the partnership with Tunisia to ensure that people on both shores of the Mediterranean enjoy the benefits, saying: “More than ever we need genuine cooperation … to strike at the criminal networks and smugglers who exploit human misery…”.

The President of the European Commission recalled the visit of June 11 and the memorandum of understanding on the strategic and comprehensive partnership that was prepared, pointing out that they are working for stability and prosperity and for future generations, stressing that Tunisia and the European Union are linked by history and geography and share strategic interests and that it is, therefore, important to deepen the partnership with Tunisia.

She explained that the agreement now has 5 pillars, the first of which concerns bringing peoples and individuals closer together.

In this context, she emphasised that opportunities will be offered to young people in particular and a Tunisian window will be opened in the eroms + programme with 10 million euros to pay for exchanges, and a partnership will be launched to give young Tunisians opportunities to study, work or train in the European Union in order to gain experience that will be important for the Tunisian economy when they return to their country.

She also indicated that schools will be modernised, noting that 80 schools will be supported with their digital and green transition platforms, with funding amounting to 6.5 million euros.

With regard to economic development, the President of the European Commission emphasised that work will be done to build a solid Tunisian economy that will generate development, adding: “We will work to support Tunisia by providing financial support, and we will work within this framework to provide budgetary support”.

As for the point relating to investment and trade, she mentioned that the European Union is Tunisia’s leading partner in terms of investment, specifying that joint work will be carried out to improve the business climate and attract more investment, stressing that an investment forum is scheduled to be organised next autumn to bring together investors and financial institutions.

She stressed that there will also be opportunities to support the green economy for the development of tourism and local communities, and will focus on investment in the digital sector, reviewing a number of projects such as the “Meduza” submarine cable, which will link Tunisia to the European Union and connect 11 countries around the Mediterranean by 2025, pointing out that 350 million euros will be allocated to this project.

She also addressed water management and sustainable agriculture, which she said were key issues in dealing with drought and structuring the food system, adding: “We are going to create investment in this sector, we are going to provide expertise and we are going to share technologies”.

In the field of renewable energies, one of the points of the memorandum of understanding stressed that Tunisia has enormous potential in renewable energies and will work to develop this sector by providing the necessary technology, noting that Europe needs to be supplied with clean energy and is in the process of decarbonising its economy and cleaning up its resources such as green hydrogen and electricity produced from renewable energies.

The European official underlined the willingness to support the strategic partnership with Tunisia in the field of energy in order to accelerate the energy transition and send projects aimed at securing supply and providing clean energy at affordable prices.

On June 11, at the Carthage Palace, a joint declaration was signed between Tunisia and the European Union, at a meeting attended by the President of the Republic, Kais Saied, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Italian Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, and Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte.

The joint declaration includes an agreement to work together on a “comprehensive partnership package” to strengthen the ties that unite the two parties in their common interest.

. The comprehensive partnership will cover the following areas:

/ Strengthening economic and trade relations

/ Establishing a partnership in the field of sustainable and competitive energy

/ Immigration

/ Bringing people closer together.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

President of the Italian Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, on Sunday described the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the strategic and comprehensive partnership between Tunisia and the European Union, which was signed this evening at the Carthage Palace, as “an important step towards the establishment of a genuine partnership between Tunisia and the European Union to tackle the migratory crisis in the Mediterranean in a comprehensive and integrated manner”.

Meloni, who arrived in Tunisia earlier in the day in the company of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, said that “a great objective has been achieved with the signing of this memorandum”, adding that it was the culmination of “a great deal of diplomatic work carried out by everyone with patience and dedication”, as she said.

Giorgia Meloni stressed the need to continue working “with the same firmness in order to implement the stages of this memorandum”, which was stipulated in a joint declaration signed in June 2023 in Tunisia.

The President of the Italian Council of Ministers said that her country was “ready to provide maximum support for the implementation of this memorandum”.

Meloni praised the efforts of her country’s diplomats, the European Commission and Tunisia to achieve this memorandum, saying that “we have worked to achieve results that define Europe’s ambitions to build new relations with its North African neighbours”, considering that a few months ago it would have been impossible to think of such a thing.

On the other hand, Giorgia Meloni, who has recently made several visits to Tunisia, announced that next Sunday her country will host a meeting on migration and development with the participation of President Kais Saied, who, she said, will be “the guest of honour at the meeting” since he is the one who initiated the invitation to the meeting.

According to Giorgia Meloni, several African countries will take part in the meeting at the level of presidents or heads of government, and “the meeting will be the start of joint work and cooperation”, she said.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Over a dozen artists in Seychelles have explored the many possibilities that lie in the grey area in a newly opened photography and digital media exhibition being displayed at Kenwyn House in Victoria, the capital.

With an even balance between photographers and digital artists, female and male, emerging and established, 17 artists have come together to showcase over 40 art pieces in an exhibition themed “Between the Lines” that is open until August 12.

Karyn Zialor, the curator, said that the exhibition was launched in January, with the aim of attracting photographers and digital artists. Speaking about the theme she chose for the exhibition, she shared that no additional information was provided about it as she wanted to see how the artists interpret it.

“From that, we ended up with a wide array of work from different artists. When you walk through this exhibition, you see different stories and ideas from the artists,” said Zialor.

“There is a stigma around digital artists, and we need to realise that art is further than painting, photography, sculptor. We need to expand to include digital artists and from that, we will get a more rounded art space in Seychelles,” said Zialor.

Talking about her artwork, Vanessa Lucas, one of the participating photographers, outlined that her piece centres around child abuse.

Lucas with her piece which centres on child abuse. (Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

“As the theme is ‘Between the Lines’, I wanted to portray how children should have the freedom to be children. The piece is about child abuse – children who are neglected and not loved by their parents, grow up amidst alcoholism, or are beaten. I want anyone who stops by my artwork to interpret it in their own way because it is all about the emotion it evokes,” said Lucas.

The black and white photograph of a boy sitting on a windowsill of a ruin, head bent to his knees and with bottles, and rope at his feet was shot in 2017 and has never been showcased.

Two other participating artists, Marquise and Rico Padayachy, stated that their interest to join the exhibition is founded on an upcoming project they are working on.

“This year, we are investing in and coming forth with ‘Kartoon Seselwa’ [Seychellois Cartoon], which is a new venture for us. This piece was supposed to be an animation but due to time constraints, we made a still instead. This is not just digital art, but also a taste of what we will be coming forth within the near future,” said Rico.

“The artwork is made of mixed media – the background was drawn using watercolors and crayons and the guy in the middle is digital art. The art piece is about expression, expression through music, especially where words are not always enough,” said Marquise.

Source: Seychelles News Agency