Japanese ambassador reaffirms willingness to support development efforts in Tunisia

Japanese Ambassador in Tunis, Takeshi Osuga, underlined his country’s willingness to continue to support Tunisia and its economic and development efforts through bilateral agreements, various development programmes and the simplification of financing procedures. This was at a meeting with speaker of the Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP) on Wednesday in Bardo. The ambassador expressed his interest in political developments in Tunisia, its democratic transition and in upholding the rule of law, according to a statement from the parliament. In this context, he emphasised the importance of relations between the parliamentary institutions of the two countries, stressing the need to step up efforts to boost cooperation between Tunisia and Japan in this area, particularly at the level of parliamentary friendship groups. The Japanese ambassador also commended the strong Tunisian-Japanese relations and the fruitful ties of cooperation, mentioning the TICAD 8 Tokyo International Conference on African Development held in Tunis last August and the new prospects for cooperation at bilateral and African level. For his part, the speaker of the ARP highlighted the excellent historic relations between the two countries, expressing the hope that these relations would develop further, particularly in the economic and social fields. He also stressed the need to step up investment programmes, continue infrastructure development programmes in Tunisia and develop bilateral cooperation in the fields of culture, education and scientific research. In this context, the Parliament speaker underlined the values shared by the two countries, in particular freedom, equality, good governance and the fight against corruption. He also stressed the willingness of the Tunisian Parliament to continue the fruitful parliamentary cooperation with Japan, in particular at the level of parliamentary friendship groups.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse