Tunisia’s Envoy to the U.S.: An Ambassador at the Top of His Form

by Richard H. Curtiss

Tunisian Ambassador to the United States Azouz Ennifar is a man totally at home in his Washington, DC environment. If there is a corps of “Americanists” in Tunisia’s foreign service, just as there are “Sinologists” and “Arabists” in the U.S. State Department, Tunisia’s lean, energetic and articulate envoy surely would be a candidate for dean.

Nearly half of his 29 years in the Tunisian foreign service have been spent in his country’s embassy in Washington or its Economic and Trade Office in New York. But there have been many other countries as well.

As a result of his service in France and as Tunisian ambassador to Brazil, his two sons and one daughter all speak French and Portuguese, along with their Arabic and fluent English. And when you mention Indonesia, where he served as Tunisia’s first resident ambassador, his eyes light up. “I would return to that beautiful country any time,” he says with a reminiscent smile.

In his current position, Ambassador Ennifar also is Tunisia’s non-resident ambassador to Mexico and Venezuela. When he served in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, he also was accredited as ambassador to Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. In his peripatetic career he also served in 1984 and 1985 as commissioner general for Tunisia at the Tsukuba Expo in Japan. And in Tunis he has served both as executive director of the national Export Promotion Center and, in 1991 and 1992, as Ambassador Director of the Americas and head of the Human Rights Office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador Ennifar is proud of what always has been a positive relationship between the United States and Tunisia. It began 200 years ago when the Bey of Tunis agreed to protect merchant ships from the very young United States from attacks by the “Barbary pirates.” In 1805 a Tunisian mission visited the United States to modify the agreement, which was turned into a trade treaty.

The current close Tunisian-American relationship dates back to strong political support from U.S. members of Congress for Tunisia’s independence struggle. After Tunisia obtained full independence from France in 1956, the U.S. also became one of its major aid donors. The U.S. aid program and a large U.S. Peace Corps program were only shut down completely in Tunisia in the early 1990s.

For its part, Tunisia was one of the very earliest of the “moderate” Arab states, meaning countries that aligned themselves politically with their fellow Arabs, but at the same time insisted on keeping close economic ties to Western countries able to help them with their national development programs. How successfully Tunisia has played this role is demonstrated by its hosting at various times the Arab League headquarters and also, at the behest of the United States, PLO headquarters, while at the same time raising, without significant oil or gas resources, its economic, educational and social standards to the point that it no longer is considered a developing nation but instead is entering into reciprocal trade agreements with countries around the globe.

Ambassador Ennifar seems to relish the challenge of presiding over the current profound change in the relationships between the Tunisian and American people. His days are a blur of meetings with American business delegations interested in investment opportunities in Tunisia’s rapidly opening economy, talks to student and civic groups, and staying in contact with U.S. political leaders.

“We are today developing an economic relationship through the private sector,” he explains, with obvious satisfaction. “Tunis is a good, reliable partner. Its markets are sound and it also can be a platform for re-export to Europe, since it will have an associate relationship with the European Union similar to the relationship of Canada, the United States and Mexico under the NAFTA agreement.

“Examples are the auto components produced in Tunisia by a General Motors subsidiary, and the Sara Lee food products which are manufactured in Tunis not only for local consumption but also for export to Europe and the Middle East. Tunisia is an excellent site for such operations not only because of the quality of the work force, but because there are no currency convertibility restrictions for foreign investors, and no requirements for local participation in ownership. Such enterprises can be 100 percent foreign-owned. We also are talking about a very stable country, where personal security and the quality of life are very good.”

It is when the conversation turns to why Tunisia is so stable and the security and quality of life in Tunisia seem so uniquely good in an area not noted for these characteristics that Ambassador Ennifar warms to his subject.

“Tunisia is a country very proud of its culture and its history. Tunisians have a personality of their own that is different than any others. It is because it’s a melting pot. We are African, Muslim and Arab,” the ambassador explains.

“Sometimes our preoccupations and objectives have to be better understood. Economic development goes with human development being sure that everyone in Tunisia is benefitting from the growth. At the same time we have to preserve our stability.”

“Therefore before making any judgments on Tunisia, we ask businessmen, human rights activists, everyone, to go see for themselves. They should check out for themselves information they receive about the country, which can be from people with their own agendas.

“In Tunisia political parties cannot be based on ethnicity or on religion. We believe in a very moderate Islam. We believe in tolerance and understanding, which are the bases of Tunisia’s personality. Tolerance is to accept the difference.”

In fact the “melting pot” to which the ambassador refers is an ethnic rather than a religious one. Although Tunisians can attribute their ancestry to the Berbers, Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, successive waves of Arabs and at least brief incursions by Vandals and Normans, there are no significant religious differences. Ninety-eight percent of the population is Sunni Muslim. Neither the Christian nor Jewish minorities number more than one percent each.

Perhaps it is the lack of religious conflict that explains Tunisia’s characteristic moderation, and its preoccupation not only with social welfare, but also individual civil rights.

“From the first day Tunisia became independent, we adopted a code of personal status which abolished polygamy and gave total equality to men and women,” Ambassador Ennifar explains. “It is a country where we try to make sure that women’s rights are well understood, and we also have a code of children’s rights and laws to protect the handicapped.

“All this reflects our belief that the major resources in the country are human resources. For this reason we provide educational, medical and social facilities for everyone, and we make sure that economic development benefits everyone.”

The ambassador’s major frustration to date is the lack of tourism between Tunisia and the United States, which indeed would allow Americans to “see Tunisia for themselves.” Tunisia abounds with affordable first-class hotels, and more than four million Europeans visit the country annually. On the other hand, he realizes that Americans need not go so far just for good beaches and golf courses. Tours must also be developed around the country’s unique cultural, historical, archeological and craft resources. This will not happen on any large scale, he fears, until there are direct air connections which will allow North American passengers to fly directly to Tunisia without changing aircraft in Europe. That may be a challenge for one of his successors.

Meanwhile Ambassador Ennifar, fluent in English and serving in one of his country’s most prestigious foreign posts, credits the support of his wife, Feryal, and the cooperation of his children for his success in the foreign service, where the stresses generally are heavier on the family than on the breadwinner. In fact, he looks forward to more years of productive service in an occupation which is always challenging.

“I hope that over my career I have been able to contribute toward making Tunisia and its development better known,” he concludes, “and to further the good relations Tunisians have everywhere in the world.”