The Tunisian president visits France to strengthen cooperation

"We call for a proactive policy of exchanges, partnerships and investments."

Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi was received with great pomp in Paris, where he made his first official visit as head of state. Unusually, it is primarily the Invalides Francois Hollande welcomed his guest. The two men then joined the Elysee, where they signed a series of agreements to strengthen economic and cultural cooperation. President Essebsi focused on the new partnership during his speech before the Senate.

"We call for a proactive policy of exchanges, partnerships and investments based on complementarity. We call for the establishment, with partners, a permanent forum for reflection and the establishment of a foundation to promote vertical integration Europe-Mediterranean-Africa. "

This enhanced cooperation concerns the security sphere. Tunisia as France faces a growing jihadist threat, as illustrated by the recent attack against the Bardo Museum, which had killed 22 people, mostly tourists.

There are ten days, François Hollande had participated in Tunis to , which echoed the Republican marches in France after the attacks in Paris.