Tunisian president hails cooperation with GCC

The level of cooperation between Tunisia and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council is developing at good pace in all fields, said Tunisian Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa in press remarks as his government reaches its 100th day in power. The premier stressed, in his remarks Wednesday night, that his mid-March tour with stops that included Kuwait was "successful", and one of the good results of that was a GCC-Tunisian investment forum held in Tunis, May 5-6. The senior official said he was informed of some obstacles facing GCC investors due to some legal, procedural, and administrative complications in Tunisia. Jomaa noted his government is working on ironing out these obstacles which he termed "a bureaucratic legacy" his cabinet inherited. The premier reviewed his government's accomplishments over the past 100 days and particularly stressed the improvement in security conditions and the work on countering terrorism. On the last point, he said a new body would be established for counterterrorism dossiers and the legal framework for it is expected to be completed before end of 2014. The official admitted his country's economic situation is very hard at present, and added losses pertaining to disturbances in the phosphate industry which a key income source for the state over the last three years came to 3 billion Tunisian dinar. One Tunisian Dinar equals USD 0.62. On the political front again, he noted his government is keen on scrutinizing recent appointments in state positions to guarantee respect to criteria of qualifications, integrity, and neutrality. To reporters' questions, Jomaa stressed he is not running in the next elections and his cabinet members would not be part of the new cabinet either. He refuted claims he had been contacted by certain political parties which offered support so he would serve in the post beyond the elections. My cabinet, he reiterated, is responsible for the preparation for the elections and providing the suitable conditions for a smooth ballot to ensure transparency and avoid any challenge of the results, once they are announced