Tunisia | Independence Day

Embassy Team | 18th January 2017

Shining example

Ambassadors and parliamentarians from both the British and Tunisian parliaments joined with Ambassador Nabil Ammar to celebrate Tunisia’s 60th anniversary of independence.

Addressing guests, Ambassador Ammar said five years after his compatriots rose up for their national dignity, “Tunisians continue to make a difference and to be different”.

But Tunisia’s successful transition had made it a symbol that terrorists sought to destroy. The “common tragedy” Tunisia and the UK faced a year ago in Sousse had brought the two peoples closer together, said the Ambassador, who appealed for Britain’s continued support to bring about security and prosperity, “two faces of the same coin”.

Middle East Minister Tobias Ellwood MP said as Tunisia was “a shining example of the way forward following the Arab Spring,” adding that Britain “stood by Tunisia” by sharing intelligence, helping to secure the border with Libya and promising “planeloads” of British investors.