Tunisia and Korea’s economic relations are below his expectations, but Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem said on a visit here that Korea had much to offer the newly democratic country.

The cradle of the Arab Spring is seeking more foreign investment following the popular uprisings that toppled long-ruling President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011, and the country’s first democratic elections in October.

“We have a long rooted diplomatic relationship, but the economic relationship is not up to the level as we expect,” Abdessalem said of the North African country’s relations with Korea. “I am coming here to this country to consolidate and to develop political and economic cooperation between both countries.”

He said that the visit on April 19 and 20 had yielded “very fruitful and constructive discussions” with Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan on bilateral relations and the regional situation in the Middle East.

“We already agreed that we have common views on the main issues and main problems of the region and we agreed that we are looking to the future cooperation in the domain of economy, investment, transfer of technology, training and know-how for the young generation.”

Abdessalem also met Park Dae-won, head of the Korea International Cooperation Agency, and agreed to boost student exchanges.

“We want to raise the number of the students to come here and benefit from the educational system in Korea.

“We also want Korea to look at Tunisia for more opportunity for investments, as well in the tourist sector,” he added, saying talks were under way for a direct flight between Tunis and Seoul.

While international investment in his country was still low, he said the new coalition government was working to make the country a more attractive business destination.

“I think we were affected due to the political events and environment that took place in Tunisia after the revolution. The number of tourists who used to come to Tunisia decreased by between 30-35 percent and now we are coming back to normality which is a good signal for this year.

“The intention of investment is already rising to 35 percent. I think that foreign investors and companies have more confidence in the Tunisian economy.”

Abdessalem thought Europe and the U.S. were now more focused on addressing their own economies than aiding post-revolution Tunisia, though some aid had been received. The U.S. Treasury Department also pledged last week to provide several hundred million dollars of loan guarantees to support Tunisia’s democratic transition and economic recovery.

“We received financial assistance from Europe and the United States, of course it is not up to the level that we expected but we are working very hard to dynamize our economy based on our capacity and local capability as well as the capability of the neighboring countries within the Maghreb Arab Union.”

He added: “Asia is becoming a very flourishing and active region in terms of economic investment and we are more interested in opening our economy and building a solid relationship with the Asian countries.”

New democracy

Tunisia has been hailed as an example to other fledgling democracies in its region as it was the first of the Arab Spring nations to hold successful democratic elections.

While the natural resource-scarce nation may be struggling with some of the same high unemployment and development issues that helped spark the revolution, its political progress looks good when viewed next to Libya where rebel groups are now working against the government, and Egypt where progress toward civilian rule is being questioned ahead of upcoming presidential elections.

Leaders of the new coalition’s Islamic Ennahda Party have denied new leanings toward Sharia law in Tunisia. But concerns of tightening media freedom and a new religious extremism in the long-moderate Muslim country have been fueled by an ongoing blasphemy trial against Tunisia’s Nessma TV over the screening of the animated movie “Persepolis,” about a woman in Iran under religious rule.

However, Abdessalem said freedom of speech was being well protected.

“The country is open and enjoying for the first time real freedom and democracy there is no fear from any kind of oppression, the only problem is that maybe the media. Most of the media institutions are part of the previous regime in one sense or another and they are not happy about what is happening in Tunisia, but I assure you that the public and private liberty is fully guaranteed in Tunisia,” he said, adding that protests against the government were only to be expected.

“It is very normal, this is one of the prices that you pay in a democracy is that you are continually criticized. We suffered for decades from political oppression and suddenly there is an explosion of political and social demands that are coming from inside the society.

“I think that this is very normal and I am fully confident that we are moving in the right direction and we are in the beginning of building a solid democracy which is based on political participation the freedom of the media and freedom of civil society and I think that we already succeed in that challenge.”

When asked if a popular movement such as the Arab Spring could ever rise in North Korea, he said: “One of the lessons we learn from Tunisia and the region is that it is no longer possible to live under a harsh dictatorship. I think there is no escape from the wave of political change and democratization it is impossible nowadays to live on an isolated island.

“The world is more interconnected and the rulers are more obliged to hear the demands and cries of the people. It is impossible to live in isolation from the outside world.”

By Kirsty Taylor (kirstyt@heraldcorp.com)