357. Letter From President Reagan to Tunisian President Ben Ali1
I am pleased that my good friend Dick Walters can personally convey my best regards to you and your government. The United States applauds the courageous political steps your government has taken during the past four months. The proposals set forth in your November statement can help foster the kind of political stability important to a secure defense against foreign intervention.
The United States has also been reassured by Tunisia’s reaffirmation of its desire for continued close ties with the West, and looks forward to our on-going cooperation. As we communicated to your government in close consultations in recent months, Libyan aggression remains an important concern for my Administration.2 In this connection let me assure you Tunisia can continue to rely on U.S. support for its territorial integrity and sovereignty. The United States encourages your government to exercise continued vigilance in its bilateral relations with Libya, and strongly discourages efforts to integrate Libya into any regional political and diplomatic arrangements.
I would also like to congratulate you on your courageous structural adjustment program. The Tunisian people have been asked to make many sacrifices to restore their country’s economy. Despite our own severe budgetary restraints, the United States will continue to support programs designed to strengthen the Tunisian economy.
Dick Walters’ visit to Tunisia comes at a time of serious turmoil in the Middle East. Events on the West Bank and in Gaza have demonstrated that the status quo cannot endure. The U.S. has therefore engaged in a series of active diplomatic consultations as a means of reinvigorating the process necessary for progress toward peace.
[Page 740]The U.S. looks forward to discussing these and other key issues during Foreign Minister Mestiri’s visit to the United States later this month and during Secretary Carlucci’s anticipated visit to Tunis. In the meantime, Mr. President, please accept my warm good wishes for your continued endeavors as you and your government build for Tunisia’s future.
Sincerely,
- Source: Reagan Library, Near East and South Asia Affairs Directorate, William J. Burns Files, Tunisia (02/01/1988–07/31/1988). No classification marking. Negroponte forwarded to Reagan the letter and a letter to Bendjedid under a February 23 memorandum, which read in part: “The letter to Ben Ali, your first substantive letter to the new Tunisian leader since he came to power last November, is a particularly important means of reiterating U.S. support for Tunisia and the sound domestic and foreign policies that Ben Ali is pursuing.” (Ibid.) Negroponte recommended Reagan sign copies of the letters to both Ali and Bendjedid.↩
- In telegram 25712 from Tunis, January 28, the Embassy reported that on January 22, Armacost told Ben Yahia: “The US strongly discouraged Tunisia’s cooperation with Algeria to bring Qadhafi into the Tripartite Agreement. The US had worked to isolate Qadhafi with some success. There was no evidence that his ambitions had changed” and the U.S. worried that “the overall effects of Tunisian policy was to loosen the effort to isolate Qadhafi.” (Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, Electronic Telegrams, D880073–0364)↩