...who was elected just a month ago. You've been Prime Minister for the past month only
and I'd simply like to say to you that you're someone who spent,
I think I'm right in saying, 15 years in prison and I remember reading
about your hunger strikes, which shows that you have a great spirit of resistance.
You are, therefore, the symbol of what has happened in the Arab world
and we're very happy to welcome you here to the Davos forum
as the legitimately elected Prime Minister of your country,
after everything that has been happening in the Arab world over the past 12 months.
Prime Minister, welcome to this meeting. Welcome to this stage.
Thank you professor Schwab. Thank you for this very interesting event.
It is my pleasure, on my behalf and on behalf of the Tunisian government,
the first elected government by the Tunisian people after its revolution,
this peaceful and wide revolution. It is my pleasure to participate
in this social, political and economic event, carrying with me
a message of hope and optimism.
This revolution that has impressed the world.
For the first time the Tunisian people elects a legitimate government,
a representative government. It is the first time that we will build
a democratic state.
The first steps of this state would be the establishing of a constitution
and the first time in Tunisian history, a constitution that will protect our democracy,
a constitution that stipulates for the respect of private and public freedoms,
the respect of human rights, that criminalizes torture, that establishes and lays down
the basis for a modern state, an open state that respects institutions,
that respects judicial independence, that preserves the freedom of the press,
that provides for freedom of belief to all Tunisians.
There will be no discrimination as to religion, language, gender or other.
Moreover, this constitution will support the various constituents of the Tunisian
society and its achievement as to women's rights.
This is one of the major steps to be taken by the Tunisian people within a year.
Until we establish this new constitution for Tunisia,
the government, which I have the honor of presiding over, will exert big efforts
as to achieving social justice and transitional justice.
Transitional justice will allow the restoration of individual
and collective rights to the people.
This transitional justice will respect the rule of law
and will not carry out any reprisals.
These are the specificities of the new Tunisian government and new Tunisian society.
It has become an example to be followed throughout the world.
This experience has opened wide horizons for the Arab world.
It is a great honor for us for it to have started in Tunisia,
this Arab Spring that carries the hopes of our peoples
but it is also a revolution of dignity carried out by our people.
It was based on freedoms.
As I have said, we have moved a long way ahead and there will be a constitution very soon.
Dignity also means development. It also means social justice.
Here the Tunisian experience is faced with huge challenges
from what we inherited from a dictatorship.
The social oppression we have inherited. Tunisia is faced with challenges today.
In Tunisia, We have today 800,000 unemployed including
200,000 graduate people holding degrees and diplomas from universities.
Every year 75,000 graduates from Tunisian universities
join the unemployed so this is a huge challenge laying ahead of us.
The deficit in the budget has amounted to 6%. Moreover one fifth of the Tunisian population
today is suffering from poverty. 400,000 of our people, of our youth especially,
in marginalized parts do not earn more than one euro per day.
This is a huge challenge that we have to face.
A challenge that faces this beautiful Tunisian experience which has, as I have said,
achieved big political gains but hopefully the hurdles will not prevent political
evolution in our country.
But in spite of these circumstances, I do not wish to be pessimistic.
We are still determined. We are confident in success
because this democratic choice is an irreversible choice.
This is why we will be relying upon ourselves first, then upon our friends and allies
in Europe and in the United States. We are glad President Obama has announced
his support for the Tunisian experience. The same applies for the EU
and the Arab Mashriq countries.
I would like to conclude with a note of optimism because in Tunisia we have
enough human resources, enough human skills. We have an educated elite.
We have well trained people. We have openness.
We have moderation and we have a coalition that is established for the first time
and that encompasses parties with various affiliations, Islamist, liberals and others.
This is something we are to preserve. In Tunisia we also have
very good infrastructure.
We have a middle class, a big middle class, although it was strained
during previous decades. We have reforms.
We would like to strengthen these reforms,
namely as to promoting transparency, the independence of the judiciary
and the independence of regulatory institutions in the state.
We would like to carry out reforms as to investments and laws that govern investments.
We would like to support a free market, local and international investors.
The Tunisian economy, in spite of various difficulties, has major added value.
Tourism is still very strong. We have the textile industry
and of course this industry could further evolve.
We have electro-mechanical industry that could evolve
in spite of various difficulties we face. We have airplane and car industries.
We have food industries that require further improvement in addition to
high technology services in media and telecommunications.
We have financial services also and we hope that Tunisia will be able to
become a hub or a platform for financial exchange.
We have also good healthcare services. We wish to further improve such services.
Tunisia is an open country thanks to the nature of its population.
We have social cohesion. We do not have problems
between various social classes. We do not have confessional disagreements.
Tunisia is the gate to the Arab world. It is the gate to Africa.
It is a country open to its European and global neighbors.
Tunisia will be, thanks to this democratic experience and with the support
of its population and friends, a hope for the future,
hope for the Arab Spring and hope for international peace. Thank you.