Remarks With Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi Before Their Meeting

Source: U.S. Department of State

John Kerry - Secretary of State

Can I just say before everybody goes, I want to, first of all, welcome President Essebsi to New York and I want to congratulate him. He’s already taking pride in, and justifiably, the investment code and the progress that is being made in Tunisia. And I simply want to reiterate that we are totally supportive of the courageous and visionary steps that the government is taking in Tunisia to push back against extremism, to grow a really competent government in the middle of a transition that is very, very complicated. So we really welcome your efforts and we particularly appreciate the counterterrorism cooperation. And I want you to know that Libya is not secondary at all; it’s very much a priority in our context now, and we can talk more about what we’re doing. But thank you for your efforts. We’re very encouraged by your commitment and the steps you’ve taken, and especially with the difficulty of passing the investment code. I think that will have a positive impact.