VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTU #0055 0251008
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251008Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7193
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS TUNIS 000055 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR OES (SENSENEY AND LAWRENCE), S/P (BEHRMAN), 
S/SRMC (CHANDLER), AND R (NOOR-ALI); ALSO FOR NEA/MAG 
NSC STAFF FOR SENIOR DIRECTOR RAMAMURTHY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL SENV TSPL TS
SUBJECT: SENIOR TUNISIANS ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 
COOPERATION: NEA DAS WITTES'S VISIT 
 
REF: A. TUNIS 43 
     ¶B. 09 TUNIS 757 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  In January 21 meetings with the Minister 
of Communications, the Minister of Higher Education, and a 
senior MFA official, NEA DAS Wittes underlined the USG's 
interest in stepping up bilateral collaboration on science 
and technology, previewing the prospective March visit of 
Science Envoy Elias Zerhouni and urging the GOT to ratify the 
bilateral Science and Technology (S&T) Agreement, signed in 
¶2004.  The Tunisians said they looked forward to Dr. 
Zerhouni's visit and said they would work to resolve a legal 
obstacle impeding ratification of the S&T agreement.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Upgrading bilateral cooperation in science and 
technology was a key feature of DAS Wittes' January 20-22 
visit to Tunisia.  In her three meetings with senior GOT 
officials, Minister of Communications Oussama Romdhani, 
Minister of Higher Education Bechir Tekkari, and MFA 
Secretary of State for Asia and the Americas Saida Chtoui, 
DAS Wittes previewed the prospective March visit of Science 
Envoy Elias Zerhouni.  Each welcomed the opportunity to 
enhance S&T cooperation and said they looked forward to the 
envoy's visit and would welcome his ideas and input. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Minister of Higher Education Tekkari said Tunisia 
had been modeled too closely on the French approach to S&T, 
and expressed interest in moving closer to a U.S. model in 
which the government funds research, the fruits of which are 
then adapted and applied by the private sector.  Tunisia's 
strategy, he continued, is to move from its current low-to 
mid-range technology to building capacity for high technology 
especially in the areas of micro-electronics, informatics, 
biofuels, and biotechnology.  Tekkari said the GOT recognized 
that a new approach would be needed to bridge the existing 
gap between research and industrial applications. Tekkari 
added that the GOT was developing a "Science City" intended 
to impart a new spirit of scientific entrepreneurship among 
Tunisian youth.  DAS Wittes asked the Minister to forward her 
more information on the project so that Dr. Zerhouni could be 
briefed on it before his visit. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Minister, DAS Wittes, and the Minister,s 
Secretary of State for Science, Refaat Chaabouni, discussed 
the requisites for success in building a high-technology 
industry.  Wittes expressed the view that, while education 
and job opportunities were important, equally key was the 
creation of a culture of innovation.  The minister and his 
staff agreed.  Wittes noted the role governments play in 
creating an environment that welcomes and rewards innovation. 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) On the S&T agreement, DAS Wittes told MFA Secretary 
of State Chtoui that the U.S. was eager to activate the 2004 
bilateral science and technology cooperation agreement and 
regretted that Tunisia had yet to ratify it.  Providing, for 
the first time, a coherent explanation for the delay, Chtoui 
advised that the agreement had been flagged en route to 
parliament by Tunisia's Constitutional Council, which 
determined that one of the articles was incompatible with 
Tunisian law.  She expressed the belief that the problem 
centered on a financial issue. DAS Wittes discouraged 
Chtoui's suggestion that it might be easier to negotiate a 
new, updated agreement.  It would be much easier for the two 
sides to agree to amend a part of the text of the existing 
agreement, DAS Wittes explained.  Pausing momentarily, Chtoui 
said she accepted that amending the existing text would be 
easier, and indicated the GOT would move forward on that 
basis. 
 
¶6. (U) DAS Wittes has cleared on this message. 
GRAY