Following the UK-Tunisia Bilateral Forum, Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood said:

I am delighted to have hosted Tunisian Deputy Foreign Minister Gouia at the UK-Tunisia Bilateral Forum today, the first since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution. I warmly welcome our greater cooperation. The UK has strongly supported Tunisia’s successful democratic transition, which has become a model for the region. Together we look forward to further strengthening ties across a wide range of sectors, to our countries’ shared benefit.

I committed the UK to providing further counter-terrorist equipment and training; sharing expertise in public-private partnerships and developing regulatory frameworks in the energy sector; and supporting the establishment of a branch of Brighton University in Tunisia, and English language learning. We also held productive discussions on a range of regional issues, including Libya, Iraq and Syria.

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