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### Viewing cable 09TUNIS270, FRENCH PM FILLON SIGNS EIGHT ECONOMIC AGREEMENTS

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09TUNIS270 | 2009-04-30 10:10 | 2011-02-21 00:12 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Tunis
Appears in these articles: http://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/170211/tunisie-wikileaks-portrait-dune-diplomatie-francaise-soumise-au-regime-

`

    VZCZCXYZ0000
    PP RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHTU #0270/01 1201021
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    P 301021Z APR 09
    FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6252
    INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

` `

    UNCLAS TUNIS 000270

    SENSITIVE
    SIPDIS

    STATE FOR EEB/IFD/OMA, EEB/EPPD, AND NEA/MAG
    (PATTERSON/HAYES)
    STATE PASS USTR (BURKHEAD) AND USAID (MCCLOUD)
    USDOC FOR ITA/MAC/ONE (MASON)
    CASABLANCA FOR FCS (ORTIZ)
    LONDON AND PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM KNNP KPAO FR TS
    SUBJECT: FRENCH PM FILLON SIGNS EIGHT ECONOMIC AGREEMENTS
    ON VISIT TO TUNISIA

    -------
    Summary
    -------

    ¶1. (SBU)  French Prime Minister Francois Fillon wrapped up a
    36-hour official visit to Tunisia on April 24, and then
    stayed on for a few days of personal travel.  He brought with
    him an entourage of 100 people, including four ministers, 60
    businessmen, and 10 university chancellors.  He met with
    several Tunisian ministers, including the Prime Minister, as
    well as President Ben Ali.  During the visit, Fillon signed
    eight bilateral accords on financing for small and medium
    enterprises (SMEs), transportation, nuclear cooperation, and
    an 80 million euro bilateral aid package.  Fillon also spoke
    on migration, the economic crisis, and the Mediterranean
    Union.  Noticeably absent from the delegation were Foreign
    Minister Bernard Kouchner and French Secretary of Human
    Rights Rama Yade.  Publicly, Fillon barely touched on
    democracy and human rights during his stay.  End Summary.

    ------------------------------------------
    Aid for SMEs and Transportation Agreements
    ------------------------------------------

    ¶2. (U) France is by far Tunisia's largest trading partner,
    with bilateral trade currently standing at 7.2 billion euros
    per year.  France has over 1,000 businesses in Tunisia
    (employing over 108,000 people), is Tunisia's largest aid
    donor (120 million euros per year), and sends the largest
    number of tourists (1.2 million in 2008) to Tunisia.  During
    his visit, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon focused on
    economic cooperation, bringing over 60 French businessmen in
    his delegation.  He announced the creation of a 40 million
    euro credit line for Tunisian exporters, with the caveat that
    they buy French products.  He also signed an MOU for dialogue
    between the French Development Agency (AFD) and the Tunisian
    Ministry for Development and International Cooperation,
    noting the AFD had signed three aid agreements for 80 million
    euros, 65 million destined to water management and 15 million
    to vocational training.

    ¶3. (U) Transportation was a hot topic during the visit.
    France and Tunisia signed a framework agreement for
    partnerships in air, maritime, land, and rail transport.  In
    addition, the parties signed an accord creating a maritime
    transport institute and another to move forward with the
    project of extending the Tunis tramway and building local
    express trains.  The Tunis Urban Transport Society (TRANSTU)
    signed a deal to buy 16 tramway cars for 65 million euros
    from French company Alstom.  According to an Alstom employee,
    this deal includes a 10-year maintenance contract.  On the
    sidelines of the visit, the Tunisian Industry, Trade and
    Handicrafts Union (UTICA) met with its French counterpart,
    the Movement of French Enterprises (MEDEF).

    ¶4. (U)  The Tunisian Minister of Transportation, Abderrahim
    Zouari, outlined the GOT's strategy to modernize ports and
    raise the percentage of the national fleet used for transport
    of merchandise from 9 percent currently to 20 percent by
    ¶2016.  Zouari mentioned some of Tunisia's plans for
    modernization in logistics transport services, noting the
    GOT's plan was to reduce the cost of logistics from 20
    percent of GDP to 15 percent, especially in view of likely
    increases in volume of transported goods (from 95 million
    tons in 2007 to an expected 190 million in 2016).

    ---------------------------------
    The Economic Crisis and Migration
    ---------------------------------

    ¶5. (U)  Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi said the
    international economic crisis would not alter bilateral
    investment dynamics in any way.  Minister of Transportation
    Zouari, however, took a more practical approach by noting the
    GOT had to raise competitiveness in the field of logistics in
    order to counter the effects of the crisis.

    ¶6. (U)  With approximately 600,000 Tunisians or dual
    nationals currently living in France, migration is a key
    piece of the bilateral relationship.  The GOF issued nearly
    80,000 visas last year to Tunisian citizens (an 8 percent
    rise from 2007), most for short-term stays.  Last year,
    during President Sarkozy's visit, France and Tunisia signed a
    migration accord providing 40 million euros over three years

    for vocational training.  The accord also set aside 3,500
    employment visas annually for young Tunisians working in a
    variety of sectors.  During his visit, Fillon was questioned
    on this topic, and clarified that the plan was part of a
    ""controlled management of migration flows"" and was intended
    to limit economic migration.

    -------------------------------
    Robust Cooperation on Education
    -------------------------------

    ¶7. (U) Education cooperation was a big deliverable during
    Fillon's visit.  Currently, over 10,000 Tunisian students
    study in France and over 60 percent of France's bilateral aid
    is destined to higher education programs.  Half of the
    accords signed dealt with education, among them a fashion
    institute cooperation agreement and an agreement between a
    major French engineering school (ENSTA) and an engineering
    school in Bizerte (ENIT), with a goal of training 3,000
    engineers yearly.  In addition, the Research and Teaching
    Pole of d'Aix Marseille signed an agreement with Tunisian
    universities in El Manar to create a Mediterranean center for
    scientific and technical cooperation.

    ¶8. (U)  Dominique Busserau, French Secretary of
    Transportation announced the creation of a satellite of the
    French Institute for International Transport and Ports (ITIP)
    in Tunis, and alluded to an agreement signed between the
    Paris Transport Authority (RATP) and the Institute of
    Transport and Logistics in Sousse.  The French delegation
    also announced the upcoming opening of a Tunis branch of
    Paris Dauphine University.

    -------------------------------------
    Moving forward on Nuclear Cooperation
    -------------------------------------

    ¶9. (U)  Tunisia and France signed two agreements on nuclear
    cooperation during the visit, one outlining intergovernmental
    cooperation on development of peaceful uses for nuclear
    energy and another forming a steering committee on the same
    subject.  France is helping Tunisia develop its first nuclear
    power station by 2020, which will produce 900 MW of
    electricity (20 percent of the country's estimated need).
    France has similar atomic energy deals with Algeria, Libya
    and Morocco.

    -------------------------------------------
    The Mediterranean Union ... An Afterthought
    -------------------------------------------

    ¶10. (U) According to press reports, Fillon mentioned the
    Union of the Mediterranean (UPM) only tangentially, calling
    it a tool for regional integration.  He said the
    Mediterranean had high potential and the two countries needed
    to create a common space to develop projects and dialogue.

    ----------------------------------
    We Don't Give Lessons on Democracy
    ----------------------------------

    ¶11. (SBU) In comparison to economic issues, the Prime
    Minister made fewer public statements on democracy and human
    rights.  Fillon didn't include Foreign Minister Bernard
    Kouchner or Secretary of Human Rights Rama Yade in his
    delegation.  Although French PolOff told the Embassy that
    Fillon raised the issue in private with the GOT, the press
    reported that he praised President Ben Ali for inviting
    international observers for the upcoming election, adding
    that it was a step toward progress.  (Note: Ambassador and
    other Emboffs will seek further information from French
    counterparts in the coming days. End Note.)  When Fillon was
    pinged on these issues during a press conference, he said
    that France ""doesn't give lessons"" on human rights, and that
    the world ""asks more of Tunisia"" because it is more developed
    and more ""similar to us.""  He added that human rights
    problems ""arise pretty much in every country in the world""
    and that democratization is a ""continuous process.""

    -------
    Comment
    -------

    ¶12. (SBU)  After Kouchner's March 2009 interview in Jeune

    Afrique, in which he noted Tunisia could do more on democracy
    and human rights -- comments which incensed the GOT -- Fillon
    steered clear of those issues publicly and focused on the
    bilateral economic relationship.  The visit was well-received
    by the GOT, which is actively exploring possible commercial
    opportunities to stem the negative effects of the global
    economic crisis.  Relations between France and Tunisia
    continue on a steady positive note, as France remains
    Tunisia's most important commercial and political partner.
    End Comment.
    Godec

`