Spain, Tunisia sign 8 agreements on economic, security cooperation

TUNIS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Eight bilateral cooperation agreements were signed between Tunisia and Spain Monday in the economic and security sectors, during the state visit of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to Tunisia.

Rajoy and his Tunisian counterpart Youssef Chahed co-chaired the eighth session of Tunisian-Spanish high-level joint meetings in which the cooperation agreements were signed.

Among the agreements, there is one on fight against organized crime, one partnership deal in higher education and scientific research, one partnership agreement in agriculture, water, environment and climate change, and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the cooperation in informations technologies and communications.

The two countries also signed a partnership deal on civil protection and a MoU of combating violence against women.

"This meeting held under the sign of an innovative strategic partnership comes 10 years after the last session of 2008," said Chahed, adding it is "a timely opportunity to expand our bilateral partnership in all areas."

"The high-level meeting has been crowned by a joint declaration that aims, mainly, at promoting Tunisian-Spanish cooperation in all fields," said Chahed.

For his part, Rajoy said that there is a potential growth in trade between the two countries.

"Spanish companies are becoming more global, and Tunisia benefits from its comparative advantage of strategic geographical position," said Rajoy.

"Spain invests nearly 1.3 billion dinars (500 million U.S. dollars) in Tunisia, and it is Tunisia's fifth largest exporter and sixth largest importer," said the Spanish prime minister.

According to official figures, by 2016, 64 companies with Spanish participation operated on Tunisian territory, generating 6,554 jobs. And no less than 4,000 Spanish companies engaged in trade with Tunisia.

Rajoy also reiterated his country's support for the success of the democratic and economic transition in Tunisia.

"Tunisia has been able to realize the structure of a pluralist democracy based on dialogue, consensus, the supremacy of the law and the enhancement of the role and rights of women," he said. Enditem