Tunisian Foreign Minister on India visit, calls on Modi

Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui, who is here to participate in a Joint Commission Meeting with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Saturday.

"Held fruitful tals with Tunisia's Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Khemaies Jhinaoui. India cherishes deep-rooted friendship with Tunisia," Modi tweeted after the meeting.

Jhinaoui, who arrived here earlier in the day on a four-day visit to India, will participate in the 12th India-Tunisia Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with Sushma Swaraj.

"During this visit, the External Affairs Minister will be holding discussions with Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui on a wide-range of issues of shared common interest," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

"The JCM will enable both countries a comprehensive review of bilateral cooperation in political, economic and cultural areas and people-to-people exchanges," it stated, adding that both countries would also be signing agreements and memorandums of understanding.

Jhinaoui, who is accompanied by a high-level business delegation representing diverse areas of business, trade and investments, will address business sessions to be organised by the apex chambers of commerce and industry.

The re-engagement with the North African country comes more than a year after then Vice President Hamid Ansari's visit to Tunisia in June last year. The two countries had inked several MoUs.

Bilateral trade between India and Tunisia stood at $370.46 million in 2016.

The North African country has been a reliable source for phosphates and India accounts for around 50 per cent of

Tunisia's global phosphoric acid exports.

India, on the other hand, exports a wide range of products, including knocked-down kits, automobiles, electrical items, cotton, mechanical engines, organic chemical products, rubber, rice, coffee and spices.

--IANS

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