Mintimer Shaimiev and Ambassador of Tunisia to RF Mohamed Bellaji discussed cooperation possibilities

In the nearest future Tunisia and Tatarstan would exchange businessmen groups for bilateral cooperation study and broadening already existing contacts. That was one of the results of the meeting of RT President Mintimer Shaimiev with Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Republic of Tunisia to RF Mohamed Bellaji that took place in the Kazan Kremlin.

The current visit of Tunisian Ambassador, according to Mintimer Shaimiev, opens a new page of relationships’ history and gives Tatarstan and Tunisia a possibility to start multilateral collaboration within Republic of Tunisia and Russian Federation framework of cooperation. However, this Arab state is rather familiar to us as by its rich history as well as by present-day achievements. The word “Tunisia” could be heard spoken by citizens of Tatarstan more often. Its base, RT President believes, is a dynamic development of the country, which is a few steps ahead of its neighbours at the African continent in external cooperation and export of national product and in level of education.

Impresses the fact that the country developing effectively successfully manages with its social security questions, - it conveys a great deal.

One of the most promising directions of further bilateral cooperation, according to RT President, can become tourism. Mintimer Shaimiev is confident, speaking about tourism development Tatarstan and Tunisia can outline some concrete plans already today. These contacts would be feasible to both parties, as tourists from the neighbouring republics would be involved since Tatarstan is so to say a centre of tourism business in the Volga region.

During the meeting, Ambassador of Tunisia named it very positive, questions of cooperation in the field of culture, education, youth policy and sport were discussed. President of Tatarstan and mass media representatives were invited to participate in Information Forum, which is to be held in Tunisia under the aegis of the UN in November, 2005. Around 100 country leaders and approximately 15 thousand specialists from mass media take part in it.

The meeting was attended by the First Councillor of Tunisian Embassy Mehdi Fershishi, Director of Tunisian Agency on Tourism representative in RF Ahmed Slumah; from Tatarstan – Head of RT President Administration Yuri Kamaltynov, RT Minister of Sport and Tourism Marat Bariev and others.