Tunisian Foreign Minister Highlights Role of Diplomacy in Implementing Foreign Policy
The Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration, and Tunisians Abroad, Mohamed Ali Nafti, emphasized the crucial role of Tunisian diplomacy in implementing the country's foreign policy. This policy, he said, aims to establish diversified cooperation and partnership relations with friendly and brotherly countries, as well as with international and regional organizations, based on the trilogy of national sovereignty, mutual respect, and shared interests.
During a joint plenary session dedicated to the mission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held on Tuesday at the Bardo Palace, Nafti affirmed that Tunisian diplomacy is an integral part of the government's action and operates in symbiosis with other relevant organs. He explained that the ultimate goal of this diplomacy is to develop solutions that meet Tunisia's needs in various economic and commercial sectors, including transportation, housing, health, education, employment, energy, and the right to a healthy environment, through the promotion of international cooperation in these areas.
This cooperation, he added, aims to secure advantageous financing for infrastructure development projects, such as seawater desalination plants, wastewater treatment plants, hospitals, roads, and connections to water and sanitation networks. Nafti also highlighted the role of Tunisian diplomacy in promoting the role of Tunisian competencies in national development and strengthening the economic dimension through diplomatic actions aimed at effectively consolidating economic partnerships with various countries in the service of Tunisia's interests.
Regarding cooperation between Tunisia and Libya in the economic and commercial sectors, the minister indicated that Tunisia is determined to facilitate the circulation of goods and passengers at the Ras Jedir border crossing point. To achieve this, Nafti affirmed that Tunisia is actively working to transform this crossing point into an integrated economic zone, a project currently under discussion with the COMESA Secretariat.
Nafti added that Tunisia is determined to diversify and enrich its relations with various countries on the continent, particularly Canada and countries in South and Central America, given the significant opportunities these markets offer for promoting Tunisian products such as olive oil and phosphates. He also emphasized that his department is pursuing the diversification and strengthening of Tunisia's partnerships, notably with China, with which relations are experiencing a resurgence of dynamism thanks to the Sino-African Cooperation Forum and bilateral meetings between ministers and Chinese officials.
Addressing the issue of irregular migration, Nafti specified that Tunisia categorically refuses to be a transit, settlement, or landing country for irregular migrants. However, he nuanced that Tunisia will always remain committed to respecting human rights and dignity, estimating that irregular migrants are "victims" of their countries' economic systems and human trafficking networks.
In the face of this global phenomenon, Nafti affirmed that Tunisia has opted for a responsible treatment of this scourge, in accordance with international law. As evidence, he continued, Tunisia has increased its financial contribution to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to support a program for the voluntary return of migrants to their countries of origin. This program, the minister revealed, has enabled more than 19,000 migrants to return to their countries of origin as of October 1, 2025, adding that Tunisia is continuing to coordinate with neighboring countries to converge views and take common measures to stem irregular migration.
Responding to deputies' questions about the Palestinian issue, the head of Tunisian diplomacy emphasized that this cause remains an absolute priority for Tunisian diplomacy and a pillar of its foreign policy. He indicated that Tunisia has spared no effort since the early days of the Zionist aggression to express its absolute solidarity with the Palestinian people during various regional and international events, through the adoption of a clear position that goes beyond mere condemnation of Zionist atrocities to advocate for the accountability of their perpetrators before the International Criminal Court.
Nafti took the opportunity to recall Tunisia's firm and principled position in favor of the Palestinian cause and its absolute support for the Palestinian people in recovering their legitimate and inalienable rights and establishing a fully sovereign and independent state on the entire territory of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital.
