TUNIS
Turkish Minister of Development, Cevdet Yilmaz met with the leader of the Nahda Movement, Rashid al-Gannushi in Tunis.
In a meeting that took place at the headquarters of the political party, Yilmaz congratulated al-Gannushi for having been reelected as the party head.
"Political parties are an inseparable part of democracies. As the Republic of Turkey, we follow closely the developments in Tunisia. We do believe that there will be very nice things in Tunisia in the near future. As a country going through transition following the revolution, Tunisia seems to be doing well economically despite the global crisis. We can see serious progress in the fields of agriculture and tourism in Tunisia. We do wish to contribute to the development in Tunisia," Yilmaz stressed.
On his talks in Tunisia, Minister Yilmaz said that Turkey and Tunisia shared excellent relations.
All initiatives will turn into tangible steps, Yilmaz also said.
Al-Gannushi, in his part, said that they were honored to receive Yilmaz.
"I would like to thank the government and people of Turkey at your presence. We could hold a legal congress only after 40 years due to the bans and pressures during the former dictatorship. The congress will open new horizons for the government and people of Tunisia," al-Gannushi stated.
The Nahda Movement's first legal congress in 40 years lasted four days and ended on Monday.
Turkey and Tunisia sign "development cooperation agreement"
On the other hand, Minister Yilmaz and Tunisian Minister of Regional Development and Planning, Jameleddine Gharbi signed a "development cooperation agreement" which would involve cooperation on various issues including industry, social residences, dams, security, agriculture, fight against poverty and extending support to investments.
