Egypt and Tunisia Reiterate Commitment to Political Transition

Tunisian Interim President Moncef Marzouki participated in a two-day summit with recently-elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo on Friday. This was Morsi’s first meeting with a foreign head of state, and marks the beginning of new relationship between the two post-revolutionary states, reported TAP.

Both presidents seek to continue bilateral agreements, especially in the areas of trade, infrastructure, and travel between the two states, and look to cement their relationship as two successful post-Arab Spring states, writes TAP.

In addition to discussions directly concerning Egypt and Tunisia’s relationship, greater regional issues such as the Syrian crisis and the Palestinian independence movement were also discussed.

Both states support the opposition movement in Syria, but are firmly against foreign intervention to oust Syrian President Bashar al Assad, writes the Oman Daily Observer.

According to the article, both presidents also stressed their support for the Palestinian struggle for statehood and called on Hamas and Fatah, the two dominant Palestinian political parties, to reconcile in order to successfully achieve Palestinian autonomy.

In addition, President Morsi stressed his commitment to Libya, saying that Egypt is pleased with the progress that the state is making, especially with the recent elections, reported Al-Ahram.

Tunisia has become increasingly involved in Arab regional issues, most notably in the Syrian crisis and the Palestinian path to statehood. Tunisia is a member of the Friends of Syria, a group of international organizations and countries working to resolve the Syrian crisis. In a recent meeting, Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem stressed Tunisia’s for the end of increasing violence and  the need for a consensus between Syrian opposition movements.

Additionally, the Chief of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Khaled Mechaal,was met with loud cheers on Thursday’s Ennahdha Congress, where he praised Tunisia’s commitment to Palestinian statehood.