The President of the National Council of Regions and Districts, Imed Derbali, received, on Tuesday, the Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, Francis Scarpaleggia, accompanied by a high-level parliamentary delegation and the Canadian ambassador to Tunisia, Alexandre Bilodeau.
Derbali stated that this “visit constitutes an important opportunity to strengthen friendship and cooperation relations between Tunisia and Canada,” noting the ongoing evolution of the historical relations between the two countries in several areas, “which reflects a shared will to raise them to broader perspectives, particularly in the economic, commercial, tourism, scientific and cultural sectors.”
He also reaffirmed “the willingness of the National Council of Regions and Districts to support all initiatives and projects likely to serve the interests of the two friendly countries and to strengthen opportunities for cooperation and partnership between them.” He also welcomed the important role played by the Tunisian community established in Canada.
The President of the Council indicated that “Tunisia has been living, for several years, a new political process initiated on July 25, 2021, a historic step during which the President of the Republic, Kaïs Saïed, responded to the Tunisian people’s will for reform and change, opening the path to a new political and constitutional phase upheld by the adoption of the Constitution of July 25, 2022.”
In this framework, he presented an overview of the experience of the National Council of Regions and Districts, one of the main institutions arising from the Constitution of July 25. He stressed that this experience is the first of its kind in Tunisia’s history, constituting a new democratic form aimed at strengthening justice between the regions, broadening popular participation and enshrining the citizen’s right to contribute to the development policies that determine their future and that of their region.
For his part, the President of the Canadian House of Commons reaffirmed his country’s willingness to continue developing these relations, notably in higher education, scientific research, technological development and artificial intelligence. He praised the high level of Tunisian competencies in various sectors, notably medical and engineering, considering that the quality of these skills and talents encourages the strengthening of joint action, provides a favorable environment for investment, and stimulates the shared will to promote bilateral initiatives in different areas.
The meeting also allowed discussing the political system arising from the 2022 Constitution, as well as the philosophy that guided the creation of the National Council of Regions and Districts, which restore to citizens, in their regions, the right to participate in local development and in decision-making. The Canadian guests expressed admiration for this approach and their desire to better understand the Tunisian experience in institutional construction and the organization of the powers’ functioning.
Both parties expressed their willingness to exchange views, to consolidate dialogue mechanisms, to benefit from the particularities of Tunisian and Canadian experiences, as well as to deepen parliamentary relations and the exchange of expertise. This dynamic is likely to open broader prospects for institutional cooperation between the two countries, while strengthening cooperation in the commercial, tourist and environmental spheres, as well as in accompanying the rapid digital and technological transformations that the world is undergoing.
The President of the National Council of Regions and Districts estimated that this meeting represents an important opportunity to further strengthen bilateral relations between Tunisia and Canada and to open new perspectives for parliamentary cooperation. This should enable establishing solid institutional relations between the National Council of Regions and Districts and the House of Commons of Canada, to support parliamentary diplomacy and to pave the way for promising partnerships in the various areas of common interest.
The meeting took place in the presence of the two vice-presidents of the National Council of Regions and Districts, Zakia Maaroufi and Youssef Bergaoui, the President’s assistant in charge of external relations and investment, Fethi Maali, as well as Cyrine Gazzara, the representative of MPs with disabilities.
