297. Memorandum of Conversation1
SUBJECT
- Summary of the President’s Meeting with Tunisian Prime Minister Mzali
PARTICIPANTS
- President Ronald Reagan
- Walter J. Stoessel, Deputy Secretary of State
- Robert C. McFarlane, Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
- Walter Cutler, U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia
- Nicholas Veliotes, Assistant Secretary, State Department
- Raymond Tanter, Senior Staff Member, NSC
- Prime Minister Mohamed Mzali
- Slaheddine Baly, Minister of Defense
- Mestiri, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
- Mohamed Hachem, Advisor, Office of the Prime Minister
- Kamel Rekik, Staff Assistant, Office of the Minister of National Economy
- Moncaf Ben Abdallah, President of the Investment Promotion Agency
- Mohamed Gherib, Minister Counselor at the Embassy
The meeting began at 11:40a.m. in the Oval Office.
The President welcomed Tunisian Prime Minister Mzali to the United States, praised Tunisian President Bourguiba as a steadfast friend of the United States, and expressed regret that his health precluded a meeting with the President. He praised Tunisia’s development strategy of seeking private American investment capital to replace declining U.S. economic assistance. The President gave strong support for Tunisian security.
The Prime Minister thanked the President for his warm words of welcome. The Prime Minister gave the President best wishes from President Bourguiba. The Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the President’s reaffirmation of friendship with Tunisia, support for Tunisia’s development strategy, and U.S. concern for Tunisia’s security. The Prime Minister said that the Tunisian economy is very fragile. There are impoverished areas in Tunisia, especially along the borders with Algeria and Libya. From the standpoint of Tunisia’s economic development plans, it is very important that it receive U.S. Foreign Military Sales credits on concessional terms. Otherwise, the defense burden would pose an unacceptable tradeoff with economic development. Tunisia does encourage private investment and appreciates the praise given by the President for doing so. The Prime Minister told how some of his closest associates are in touch with U.S. business executives to identify alternatives for investment in Tunisia.
The President acknowledged Tunisia’s economic problems and said that the United States would do as much as it could to assist Tunisia.
The Prime Minister said that Tunisia wants to increase the number of its students in the United States. He very much admired the American educational system and wanted to encourage Tunisians to study in the States. Tunisia needs help in order to increase the number of students studying in America.
The President replied that he was unaware of the issue of Tunisian students in America and would discuss it with the Secretary of Education and other relevant officials. He remarked that it sounds like a good idea to increase the number of Tunisians studying here and would like to get comments from his advisors as to how the U.S. might be of assistance.
The Prime Minister mentioned the Libyan threat to Tunisia as a very serious matter. He said that the Libyan threat fully justifies the Tunisian request for Foreign Military Sales credits. The Prime Minister suggested that Tunisia be treated by the United States as it treats Egypt and Israel. For example, Tunisia would like to receive half of its Foreign Military Sales credits in the form of loans at lower than commercial interest rates and the other half would be forgiven.
The President replied that he understood that the Prime Minister had met with the Secretary of Defense, and that he would do the very [Page 619] best to make sure that Tunisia receives good terms that will enhance its security.2
The Prime Minister said that he was very concerned with the threat Libya poses to Tunisia.
The President replied that the United States shares Tunisia’s concern with the Libyan threat and would like to be as forthcoming as possible in helping Tunisia meet this threat.
The Prime Minister said that Foreign Military Sales on concessional terms allow Tunisia to spend more on economic development. Too many Tunisians are going to Libya because there are greater opportunities to find work there than in Tunisia. When young Tunisians come back from Libya, they are radicalized.
The President said that the West has not been as successful in selling freedom as in marketing products. Nations such as Singapore and Taiwan have chosen the path of freedom and are thus better off economically than other nations.
The Prime Minister asked about the President’s views on broader issues in the Middle East. He said that President Bourguiba was interested in hearing about the U.S. attitude on the Iraq-Iran War, especially regarding Iran and Syria’s collusion against Iraq. Tunisia is very concerned about the threat to the Gulf as well as about peace in Lebanon.
The President responded that he was going to discuss these wider issues during the luncheon and the discussion about these issues was deferred. The President ended the discussion by telling a story about the need for foreign language competence to which the Prime Minister enthusiastically concurred.
Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Robert McFarlane adjourned the meeting at 12:10 p.m., at which time the group went to the President’s residence for the luncheon.