NEW YORK // Tunisia’s foreign minister has warned that turmoil in neighbouring Libya threatens to undermine his country’s still fragile democratic transition ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections.
“The instability of Libya has profound repercussions on the economic, security and political affairs of Tunisia,” said Mongi Hamdi, the foreign minister for Tunisia’s caretaker interim government. “We are in the process of building a new house, a new democracy, and there is a fire next door.”
The fighting between pro-government forces in Libya and a coalition of Islamist militias has continued even as representatives of the two sides meet for preliminary talks. The instability poses the greatest threat to the only post-Arab Spring country that has managed to balance competing political forces through a democratic process.
The violence has displaced about one out of every five Libyans into Tunisia — 1.5 million people — straining the country’s already in crisis economy, according to Mr Hamdi. Islamist militants and arms flow over Libya’s porous border with Tunisia. At the same time, the proxy battle between regional powers supporting the competing groups in Libya has fuelled polarisation on all sides of the political divide in Tunisia.
Mr Hamdi said Tunisia maintains relations with all sides in the conflict because “the Libyan problem will remain with us for many years and we don’t want to lose our credibility”. Coordinating a strategy with Egypt, which supports pro-government forces, is especially important, he added. “We both face the same challenge and we both need to talk to each other, consult — we have to trust each other.”
Three years of transition in Tunisia was marred by Islamist violence, assassinations of leftist leaders and unrest as the government failed to even begin to fix the deep-rooted economic pathologies that helped spark the Arab Spring.
The competing political factions were able to craft a widely praised constitution and the Islamist Ennahda party, which had dominated the previous election, agreed to cede power to a caretaker government amid the unrest. But the distrust and polarisation between the parties and within Tunisian society remains, and the dynamics in Libya and elsewhere in the region could make the pragmatic political compromises of Tunisia’s recent past more difficult to recreate after parliamentary elections later this month and a first round of presidential polls in November.
“In the Arab countries whoever wins thinks he has a green light to do whatever he wants,” Mr Hamdi said, speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. “But power has to be shared inclusively, if they don’t want problems. Even if a big party wins, that party must involve other parties in power-sharing.”
Ennahda is expected to win the most seats in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The party has said it will not put forward a presidential candidate.
Key question are the nature of the unity government it will seek to form and what economic policies are likely to follow, said William Lawrence, director for Middle East and North Africa at the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy.
Under the first Ennahda government, Tunisia was given $1.5 billion by Qatar, a period that also saw relations sour with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Gulf Arab countries that oppose Islamist groups.
But since the interim government was formed, Doha has not given new funds and Mr Hamdi said he has undertaken efforts to rebuild relations with all GCC countries, with a focus on attracting Gulf investors to Tunisia.
“Our policy is to have excellent and strategic relations with all Gulf countries, this is extremely important,” Mr Hamdi said. He has visited the GCC several times in the past eight months, he said, and will be making a trip to Abu Dhabi after the Eid holiday.
He said the talks will focus on security in Libya as well as Tunisia’s economy. The country is facing a $4-5 billion budget deficit, and foreign assistance from the US and Europe has fallen far short of meeting the immediate fiscal needs.
While cash is needed to shore up Tunisia’s heavily subsidised economy in the immediate term, Mr Hamdi said he wants the Gulf to play a role in helping with the long-term economic reform through investment in industry.
Investors from the UAE have put billions into the region but “Tunisia’s share is very little,” he said. “We are trying very hard to have strategic relations with the UAE so that investors will be more than welcome in Tunisia.”
Mr Hamdi said Tunisia wants “high-value investments” that create products and services that there is demand for in the global economy, and jobs for young Tunisians, thousands of whom have joined extremist groups in the Maghreb and in Syria and Iraq.
“We are also inviting Kuwaitis, Qataris … we are betting on our friends in the Gulf to come and invest, we are not asking for charity,” he said.
Tunisia’s strategy is to avoid taking sides in the Gulf, where a split has emerged between Doha, which supports Islamists, and Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, which see them as a destabilising force. “We cannot afford to have enemies,” Mr Hamdi said.
Seeking investments from a range of Gulf countries “could potentially have a neutralising effect on the influence of any one … country on Tunisia”, Mr Lawrence said. In Tunisia’s political atmosphere, where perceptions can be more significant than reality, balancing the competing regional countries is key.
But even such investments will not offer a panacea for the still unanswered question of how to balance long-term structural reform that reduces the subsidy-based economy, with the short-term government spending crucial for stability, Mr Lawrence added.
The economic issue, however, has become overshadowed by the threat of violence. Earlier this year, analysts said that the $500 million in loan guarantees given to Tunisia by the Obama administration, and April state visit, were partly a signal to Egypt that political compromise would be rewarded.
But in the following months, the metastasising violence across the Arab region has shifted the focus away from democratic transition to reinforcing stability and security.
Even Mr Hamdi tried to play down the significance of Tunisia’s singular democratic success, in favour of an emphasis on the country’s role in helping to stabilise the Maghreb. He claimed to be “sick and tired” of hearing world leaders say other countries should follow Tunisia’s model.
“It worked for Tunisia, it may not work for others. We don’t want to be a model, or export the Arab Spring,” he said. “What we want is to export our goods and services.”
tkhan@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Women%E2%80%99s%20Asia%20Cup
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
South Africa's T20 squad
Duminy (c), Behardien, Dala, De Villiers, Hendricks, Jonker, Klaasen (wkt), Miller, Morris, Paterson, Phangiso, Phehlukwayo, Shamsi, Smuts.
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
