Tunisian President Will Be Warmly Welcomed to US

By Ousasama Romdhani

Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's visit to Washington in mid-May will be his first state visit as president of Tunisia, and also as chairman of the Arab Maghreb Union, a position in which Ben Ali succeeded King Hassan of Morocco last January. As spokesman for the Maghrebi Union, the Tunisian leader will focus not only on Tunisian-American relations, but also on issues pertaining to the North African region which includes, besides Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and Libya.

The Tunisian leader visited Washington briefly last November, following a three-day stay in New York City, where he addressed the United Nations General Assembly. Ben Ali's brief visit to the US capital provided him, in his words as he left the White House, "a valued opportunity to establish personal rapport" with President Bush, whom he had met previously during two visits by the then vice president to Tunisia.

Tunisia's Second President

Ben Ali, formerly prime minister, assumed presidential power constitutionally on Nov. 7, 1987, from Tunisia's aging leader Habib Bourguiba. Bourguiba, Tunisia's first and only president since it became independent, has since been in private retirement in Mornag, near Tunis, and in his hometown of Monastir. He made a public appearance in April 1989 to take part in the early general elections called for by President Ben Ali.

Immediately after being sworn in, Ben Ali endeavored to defuse a dangerously polarized situation, releasing thousands of political prisoners, abolishing the "state security court" and presidency for life, extending a general amnesty to all former prisoners of opinion, and legalizing three new political parties. Islamist political leaders, for whom President Bourguiba reportedly sought the death penalty, were pardoned and several measures were taken to steer the state away from a course of secularization which had been followed with a vengeance by Tunisia's first head of state.

The Ben Ali government has opposed the formation of a "religious party," but made it known that it would not object to the Islamic activists publishing their own newspaper. President Ben Ali admits that "reforms are still necessary in certain fields," and "the establishment of a genuine democracy is a long-term effort." He adds, however, that "the process of change is underway, and it is irreversible."

Tunisia has received substantial US assistance in the 33 years since it became independent from France. However, American aid to Tunisia has been decreasing recently, mainly due to tighter US budget restrictions.

For Tunisia, economic difficulties have been compounded by such adverse factors as floods, drought and locust infestation, which largely offset structural economic reforms undertaken with international support since 1986. These factors reduced the country's economic growth rate from 5.8 percent in 1987 to 1.5 percent in 1988. There are, however, signs of improvement in the country's balance of payments and in its foreign currency reserves, which increased from less than $100 million in 1986 to more than $700 million in 1990. Remittances from workers abroad picked up by 53 percent between 1984 and 1987.

The Dilemma of Middle-income Countries

Another challenge facing Tunisia is its $6 billion foreign debt. Tunisia spends more than $1 billion each year on debt service obligations, including some to the United States.

Tunisia, which has avoided the temptation of rescheduling and refrained from requesting the cancellation of its debt, has safeguarded its creditworthiness, but at a cost. In his address to the UN General Assembly, President Ben Ali called for an international conference to examine the question of indebtedness, drawing attention to the situation of middle-income countries like Tunisia, which seem to be penalized for their solvency.

''There is in fact no reason," he said, "why middle-income countries should be excluded from the benefits granted to other countries with regard to indebtedness."

Many experts and policymakers agree on the intrinsic unfairness of this situation. Noting that "Tunisia's debt structure would not lend itself to the Brady plan for debt relief at this time," Congressman William Broomfield (R-MI) agreed that Tunisia is "being punished for having managed [its] economy fairly well."

A Silver Lining

Congressman Broomfield, like some members of the US administration, saw a silver lining in Tunisia's situation. "On the positive side," he said, "Tunisia is maintaining a good credit rating and this factor attracts foreign investors, to include US businessmen."

With the adoption of various tax and banking reforms, Tunisia hopes to entice more American businessmen and investors. A new Tunisian-American business council was recently set up in Atlanta, GA.

Tunisian officials describe the attitude of American business as being "very receptive." It remains to be seen, however, what that will mean in terms of investments and joint ventures. Citibank has announced the opening in Tunis of a local currency branch, becoming the first foreign bank to enter Tunisia's domestic banking sector. Tunisia is also trying to steer its economy from being import-dependent to being export oriented, with an eye on the American market.

Besides bilateral issues President Ben Ali will discuss with his American interlocutors regional and international questions. Although it produces more than 20 percent of the Arab world's oil and is three times larger than the European Community, the Maghreb has hardly attracted as much American economic or political attention as the Mashreq, the eastern flank of the Arab world.

Oussama Romdhani is the bureau chief of the Tunisian News Agency (TAP) in Washington. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect his agency's editorial policy.