Arab Spring, Tunisia and Turkey

Tunisia triggered a wave of protests that has been sweeping all over the North Africa and the Middle East since the early 2011. It set the motion in the so-called Arab Spring and successfully demonstrated that social and political transformation is possible without resorting to violence. Through fair and transparent elections that was held on October 23, 2011, Tunisians elected a Constituent Assembly that is mandated to draft the new Constitution of Tunisia. The new political actors in Tunisia has shown great interest in increasing the level of cooperation with Turkey, a country whose experience in political transformation and economic development has become a source of inspiration for the people in the region.

SETA Panel brought two distinguished speakers together to discuss Turkish-Tunisian relations, as well as the recent developments in the Middle East and the North Africa: His Excellency Foreign Minister of Tunisia Dr. Rafik Abdessalem and His Excellency Foreign Minister of Turkey Prof. Ahmet Davutoglu shared their insights on the blooming relations between the two countries, transformations in the Middle East and the North Africa, and their implications for the regional and international power balances. The discussion was moderated by Taha Özhan, SETA President.

Written by Taha Ozhan, Ahmet Davutoğlu & Rafik Abdessalem