VZCZCXYZ0027
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTU #0860 3271618
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231618Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7002
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS TUNIS 000860 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
ECA FOR DONNA IVES; ALSO FOR NEA/PPD AND NEA/MAG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAO TS
SUBJECT: TUNISIA MAY SUBORDINATE LONG-TERM RESOLUTION OF 
FULBRIGHT PROBLEMS TO A LARGER FRAMEWORK FOR EDUCATIONAL 
COOPERATION 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please handle accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  In a November 20 meeting, the Public 
Affairs Officer (PAO) raised with Dr. Jelel Ezzine (the new 
Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of 
Higher Education (MOHE)) the problems with the operation of 
the Fulbright program in Tunisia.  Ezzine suggested that the 
long-term solution to Fulbright issues lay in creating a 
larger framework for educational cooperation between the 
United States and Tunisia.  While permission for four 
pre-doctoral Fulbrighters to continue their research 
in-country may be forthcoming, the Tunisians may subordinate 
the issue of resolving inconvenient deadlines for submitting 
doctoral research proposals to a larger discussion of 
educational goals.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Public Affairs Officer met on November 20 with 
Dr. Jelel Ezzine, the new Director of International 
Cooperation at the Ministry of Higher Education (who is, 
effectively, the Minister,s chief-of-staff), and raised the 
problems we have had with the operation of the Fulbright 
program in Tunisia. The most pressing issue is the lack of 
approval for four doctoral fellows to begin their research in 
January.  A second problem is the unrealistic deadlines 
routinely imposed by the Ministry on submitting Fulbright 
doctoral research proposals for approval by the doctoral 
commissions at Tunisian universities where the researchers 
will be affiliated. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Dr. Ezzine said that he valued the exchange of 
scholars and saw educational exchange as an important part of 
the cooperation between our countries, but drew a distinction 
between what he felt were "serious" projects (science, 
technology, and engineering research done by post-doctoral 
fellows) that accorded with Tunisia,s overall development 
plan on the one hand, and projects which were "peripheral" to 
it (i.e., doctoral dissertation topics in the humanities) on 
the other.  The PAO pointed out that doctoral dissertation 
researchers in such areas as engineering were not likely to 
do research in Tunisia but would probably stay in the United 
States.  Instead, he urged Ezzine to view doctoral 
dissertation researchers in the social sciences and 
humanities as people who would return to teach a new 
generation of American university students and would be more 
inclined to communicate a positive picture of his country and 
greater understanding of the issues in the Middle East. 
Ezzine seemed to be eager to move on from this argument and 
reiterated that he would like Fulbright issues to be 
considered within a larger higher educational "framework" 
between the two countries. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Although Ezzine did not share our sense of urgency 
over resolving the chronic problem of deadlines for 
submitting research proposals, his general attitude seemed 
very positive toward the United States and the Obama 
administration.  He mentioned that he had studied in the 
United States for nine years and had a PhD in engineering 
from Georgia Tech.  He praised President Obama's June 4 Cairo 
speech highly and indicated that the purpose of the meeting 
with the PAO was to see what concrete proposals we were 
willing to come up with to flesh out the offers the President 
had made to the Arab/Muslim world in the educational and 
science/technology fields.  He remarked repeatedly that 
cooperation in higher education was sought-after but that it 
should serve both countries' priorities.  Among possible 
subjects that he felt such a framework might include were: 
English-language teaching, energy and green technology, 
engineering, management and public administration, and pure 
scientific research. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Comment:  Our sense from the meeting is that there 
is reason to hope that approval for four graduate students to 
study at Tunisian institutions of higher learning, a 
precondition for them to continue their doctoral research in 
Tunisia, may be forthcoming soon.  Ezzine accepted a list 
with the scholars, names and said he would look into the 
matter.  The long-term problem of unrealistically early 
deadlines is not likely to be resolved soon.  The 
Ambassador,s appointment with the Minister of Higher 
Education, Lazhar Bououni, on November 25 may provide a 
better sense of how the MOHE wishes to proceed on the larger 
issue of educational cooperation.  End comment. 
 
GRAY