CANADA: TUNISIA HOPING FOR G-8 PUBLICITY FOR THE

UNCLAS OTTAWA 001894 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR EB/CIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL ECPS TS CA SUBJECT: CANADA: TUNISIA HOPING FOR G-8 PUBLICITY FOR THE WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY ¶1. (SBU) Tunisia's Ambassador to Canada, Khalifa El Hafdhi, demarched Charge on the forthcoming United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS),to be held in Tunisia from November 16-18. Ambassador El Hafdhi briefly reviewed the background of the WSIS, noting that phase I of the WSIS had been held in Geneva, and emphasizing the international visibility this conference will have for Tunisia. In this regard, he inquired on the possibility of whether a short reference to the WSIS could be included in the final statement from next month's G-8 summit in Scotland. ¶2. (SBU) Charge thanked the Ambassador, and advised him that his request would be forwarded to Washington for further consideration. Ambassador El Hafdhi indicated that the Tunisian Embassy in Washington would also raise this item directly with the Department. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa RODDY