Third Global Roundtable

On March 21, GFDD’s third Global Roundtable presents: Permanent Representative of Tunisia to the United Nations, His Excellency Ghazi Jomaa.
 
GFDD Global Roundtable is a new initiative providing a valuable forum for discussion, analysis, and exchange of ideas from distinguished members of the international community in an effort to spread the news, knowledge and understanding of other countries, global issues and work of different
United Nations bodies to its audience in the Dominican Republic, the US and around the world.
 
Tunisia: Home of the ancient city of Carthage, the country has long been an important player in the Mediterranean, placed as it is in the centre of North Africa, close to vital shipping routes.

In their time, the Romans, Arabs, Ottoman Turks and French realized its strategic significance, making it a hub for control
over the region.
 
French colonial rule ended in 1956, and Tunisia was led for three decades by Habib Bourguiba, who advanced secular ideas. These included emancipation for women – women’s rights in Tunisia are among the most advanced in the Arab world – the abolition of polygamy and compulsory free education.
 
Tunisia is more prosperous than its neighbors and has strong trade links with Europe. Agriculture
employs a large part of the workforce, and dates and olives are cultivated in the drier regions. Millions of European tourists flock to Tunisian resorts every year.
 
Politics: Tunisia has been relatively stable and prosperous under the leadership of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali since 1987. He stepped aside in January 2011 following widespread unrest.
 
Economy:
The diverse economy has grown steadily and the slum population has halved, but the world recession has pushed unemployment up in recent years.
 
International: Tunisia has strong ties with the European Union; its peacekeepers have served in several conflict zones.
 
Ambassador Jomaa will discuss Tunisia’s progress in relation to the UN Millennium Development Goal’s and other
international and sustainable development issues.  The Ambassador, who was educated in both Tunisia and Spain, is very familiar with Latin America, having served as Ambassador in Argentina and was also accredited to Chile, and Uruguay during his extensive career.
 
The Ambassador Roundtable will meet on Monday, March 21, at 1:00pm at GFDD’s New York office. The half hour news program, hosted by Executive Director Natasha Despotovic, and
produced by SouthSouth News, serves part of the Foundation’s mission to Promote face-to-face interactions and networking between the UN, the GFDD and the GFDD’s related internet community in the US, Latin America and Europe.
 
GFDD encourages you to be an active part of the discussion by submitting your questions to the Ambassador in advance. Please fill out the accompanying form by March 18, 2011: http://www.globalfoundationdd.org/gfdd/cpo_global-roundtable.asp