ESTH ENGAGEMENT IN TUNISIA - OPPORTUNITIES AND

UNCLAS TUNIS 000757 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/MAG (HAYES) AND OES (SENSENEY AND LAWRENCE) AMMAN FOR ESTH HUB (BHALLA) COMMERCE FOR CLDP (TEJTEL AND MCMANUS) NSC STAFF FOR SENIOR DIRECTOR RAMAMURTHY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SENV TS SUBJECT: ESTH ENGAGEMENT IN TUNISIA - OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES REF: A. TUNIS 507 ¶B. TUNIS 492 ¶C. STATE 71325 Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly. -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) We believe the positive Tunisian rhetorical response to President Obama's June 4 Cairo speech could provide an opening to activate the 2004 Science and Technology Agreement and partner with Tunisia on strategic efforts such as technology development, science diplomacy, new and renewable energy sources, and the creation of green jobs. As a small country with limited natural resources, Tunisia has staked its future on the development of human capital, increasingly focusing on science and technology (S&T)-driven economic sectors. Tunisia is also a leader in the Maghreb region on environmental and health issues. Yet despite its stated strong interest in ESTH issues, the Government of Tunisia (GOT) has shied away from meaningful engagement by declining repeated USG offers for meetings, training sessions, and other collaborative efforts. The Embassy's action plan for greater bilateral engagement on Environment, Science, Technology, and Health (ESTH) is provided in paragraph 13. End summary. -------------- Mixed Signals on Engagement -------------- ¶2. (SBU) ESTH issues, particularly S&T, are central to the Tunisian government's strategic development plans. Lacking extensive natural resources and facing rising unemployment among youth, Tunisia wants to build a knowledge-based economy and create S&T-based jobs through education, entrepreneurship, and investment. The GOT plans to equip 6,500 primary schools with digital learning tools over the next five years and has begun expanding university-level S&T programs. Its foreign investment strategy favors high-technology fields such as aerospace, medical tourism, and pharmaceuticals, and Tunisia aims to be a model for the rest of Africa on sustainable agriculture and efficient water usage. ¶3. (SBU) Yet despite the GOT's active approach toward ESTH issues, and despite its repeated expressions of interest in engaging with the United States, the GOT's actions have not matched its words. With a few exceptions (see paragraph 12) the GOT has declined to engage with us in a serious and meaningful way on ESTH partnerships. ¶4. (SBU) The GOT approach generally favors a direct request for funds rather than a consultative process leading to funded programs. For example, earlier this year the Tunisian Ambassador in Washington presented a list of ESF funding requests to the Department, bypassing the normal consultative process at post. We have been told by African Development Bank contacts that despite the Bank's long and fruitful relationship with Tunisia (one of its best and most prolific borrowers),the GOT severely limits the level of Bank input into program development, preferring to present fully-developed proposals for Bank funding. ¶5. (SBU) The GOT also regularly declines opportunities for meetings, conferences, and trainings intended to build USG-GOT partnerships at the working level. This year alone, the GOT has turned down invitations for U.S.-based training programs on water management and treatment, intellectual property rights, agricultural science, and civil nuclear power. Attempts at engagement over the last few years through visits by USG agencies, including USAID and USTDA, were cancelled due to lack of GOT interest. ¶6. (SBU) Currently, ESTH engagement is a mixed picture. In July, the MFA, citing "scheduling constraints," declined our request for visiting ESTH hub officer Manu Bhalla to meet with GOT interlocutors to discuss potential collaborations. More troubling was the GOT order to the organizers of the July 24-28 International Science Expo, which received USG support, to remove the State Department logo from its promotional materials. The posters and banners were re-printed without our logo, but retained the logos for UNESCO, the French Embassy-based "Institut Francais de Cooperation," and several other organizations, both foreign and Tunisian. Interestingly, following the visit, an MFA contact expressed disappointment that he did not meet with Bhalla and asked if he would visit again. Also, the MFA has shown interest in two recent invitations for ESTH-related training workshops. -------------- What about the Bilateral S&T Agreement? -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Tunisia signed an agreement with the United States on Science and Technology on June 22, 2004, but has not ratified it. On a practical level, our efforts to engage with Tunisia on ESTH issues depend on the GOT ratifying this agreement. In addition to the positive signal that ratification would send, there are important provisions in the agreement on intellectual property and non-taxation of U.S. assistance. The agreement is also tied to a USG interagency process that would help to identify useful projects and appropriate funding. ¶8. (SBU) In an October 7 meeting, an official from the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Technology, which is the "Executive Agent" of the agreement, said the Ministry was engaged in an interagency process to update/modify the agreement and forward it to the MFA for ratification. The official also volunteered that in the Ministry's view, progress on the S&T Agreement was fully in line with President Obama's June 4 speech in Cairo. -------------- Cairo Speech Could Create an Opening -------------- ¶9. (SBU) President Obama's June 4 speech in Cairo was well-received in Tunisia (ref A),particularly in its promise to step up engagement on science, technology, and economic development. GOT contacts have inquired about the Cairo speech, seeking details on funding and programs that may follow. In particular, Tunisians have expressed interest in efforts to support technological development, commercialize technology, develop new sources of energy, and expand scientific research. ¶10. (SBU) Despite the increasing GOT trend to circumscribe the activities of diplomatic missions and to avoid substantive engagement, the Cairo speech presents an opportunity to partner with the GOT on issues it perceives as non-controversial and strategically important (while taking care not to raise expectations of new U.S. funding). ¶11. (SBU) The clean energy aspect of the Cairo speech may represent an area of particular interest to Tunisia. In addition to the GOT's own plans to generate 13% of its electricity from renewable sources over the next several years, Tunisia is positioned to export clean energy to Europe to meet the EU target of increasing the share of renewables in energy use to 20% by 2020. The recent agreement between electric authorities in Tunisia and Italy, which will include a 1,000 megawatt undersea electricity cable, will facilitate Tunisian energy exports to Europe. Tunisia also may be interested in participating in the multinational DESERTEC project aimed at generating solar power in the Sahara to provide 15% of Europe's electricity by 2050. -------------- Current ESTH Engagement in Tunisia -------------- ¶12. (U) There are four USG programs in Tunisia addressing ESTH issues, two currently operating and two in various stages of development: a. NIH/NIAID Partnership on Leishmaniasis: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID),a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH),provides support to the Institut Pasteur de Tunis (IPT),one of four NIH/NIAID-supported Tropical Medicine Research Centers. In June, IPT and NIH/NIAID hosted a conference in Tunis with the goal of sparking collaborative research projects on Leishmaniasis, a disfiguring and sometimes deadly parasitic disease found in some 88 tropical and sub-tropical countries. b. MERC and IPT: The IPT is also benefiting from a new grant from the Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) program, which promotes scientific cooperation between Arab and Israeli researchers, students, and communities. Working with Israeli and Palestinian researchers in an $850,000 project, the IPT will carry out a study of the deadly visceral form of Leishmaniasis. c. A new university partnership funded with $300,000 in FY2008 ESF will connect researchers from Virginia Tech and the National Engineering School of Sfax, Tunisia, for a multi-year project to derive biomass fuel from olive oil byproducts. This program will involve significant technology transfer and help create a local skill base for renewable energy production in Tunisia. d. A new science and technology program ($200,000 in FY2008 ESF) implemented by the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) at the Department of Commerce will work with Tunisia's Agency for Research and Innovation to spark the development of commercially viable technologies, especially among entrepreneurs and small- and medium-sized enterprises. This program will build on CLDP's strong track record of engagement in Tunisia. -------------- Improving Future ESTH Engagement -------------- ¶13. (SBU) There are numerous USG agencies currently carrying out ESTH programs in the NEA region. Given the Tunisian desire to be a leader in science, technology, and the development of human capital, there is room for growth in interagency ESTH programming in Tunisia. To explore the GOT's willingness to improve ESTH cooperation, the Embassy plans to carry out the following efforts in the coming months: - Continue our follow-up engagement on the themes of the Cairo speech, which emphasized technology development and commercialization, science diplomacy, new and renewable energy sources, and the creation of green jobs. While recognizing that funds have not been identified for these initiatives, the Cairo speech provides a "hook" to spark GOT interest in U.S. programs and opportunities. - Working with Department offices, encourage the GOT to ratify the 2004 S&T agreement between the United States and Tunisia. Beyond serving as a demonstration of the GOT's willingness to engage, it will set the foundation for future collaborations. - Following the finalization of the S&T Agreement, pulse GOT interest in establishing a bilateral interagency S&T Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) process. JCM activities could take the form of meetings in Tunis or, funds permitting, sending a Tunisian delegation to Washington. - Engage with Tunisia through international visitor programs, scence speakers, and S&T exchanges such as the Embasy Science Fellow program. Through these programs we can engage directly with non-governmental orgnizations working in ESTH fields. - Participate in the "Year of Arab-American Science Partnership" proposed by the ESTH Hub in Amman to create opportunities for both public diplomacy and practical economic impact. - Engage with Tunisian youth through partnerships with organizations such as the Young Scientists Association. ¶14. (SBU) Expanding our ESTH portfolio will require steady and persistent efforts to improve USG-Tunisian working-level engagement on cooperation programs. Much will depend on GOT willingness and interest in carrying out joint activities. If that interest materializes, we will seek to leverage relatively low-cost activities such as short-term technical assistance, training workshops, and visitor programs into partnerships that advance both U.S. and Tunisian strategic goals. GRAY