The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, today held a meeting with his Tunisian counterpart, Mohamed Ali Nafti, to review the state of bilateral relations, coinciding with the commemoration in 2025 of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation. Albares recalled that Tunisia is a key partner for Spain at the bilateral and regional level, especially in the Union for the Mediterranean.
Minister Albares highlighted Tunisia's key role in the European Union's Southern Neighbourhood, as emphasised by the signing of the Strategic Partnership MoU with the EU in 2023. He further mentioned the anniversary of the signing of the EU Association Agreement with Tunisia, which will also be 30 years old in 2025.
He additionally expressed Spain's desire to deepen cooperation with Tunisia. In this regard, he noted that the reopening of the Spanish Cooperation Office will enable the promotion of lines of work in the areas of gender, youth and local governance, and the definition of a multi-annual partnership framework. The meeting highlighted the importance of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, which will take place in Seville from 30 June to 3 July 2025, with the aim of adopting a new paradigm of financing for development to effectively contribute towards achieving the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
Albares also appealed for Tunisia's support to strengthen joint work on the African continent within the framework of the new “Spain-Africa Strategy 2025-2028”, which makes Africa a priority in Spain's foreign policy and includes North Africa for the first time.
Concerning the situation in Gaza, the minister reiterated the need to call for an end to hostilities, to resume negotiations, to urge the immediate release of all hostages and to unblock the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip.
Pictures of the event are available
here
.
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