PRESIDENT'S CAIRO AGENDA: EMBASSY TUNIS ACTIONS

UNCLAS TUNIS 000833 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR S/P:GBEHRMAN,S/SRMC:KCHANDLER, R:SNOOR-ALI ALSO FOR NEA/RA AND NEA/MAG NSC STAFF FOR SENIOR DIRECTOR RAMAMURTHY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAID PREL SOCI TS SUBJECT: PRESIDENT'S CAIRO AGENDA: EMBASSY TUNIS ACTIONS REF: A. STATE 112468 ¶B. 9/16 DESJARDINS-HAYES EMAIL ¶C. TUNIS 507 Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly. -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Embassy Tunis has established a steering group and begun extensive outreach in preparation for the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship. With a strong private sector and a government focused on creating economic opportunity, Tunisia offers opportunities to implement the President's vision of comprehensive engagement through partnerships in areas of mutual interest. End summary. -------------- -------------- Efforts on Entrepreneurship and Economic Opportunity -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Steering Group: The Embassy has established an Economic Opportunity Steering Group chaired by the Ambassador and includes the DCM, Pol/Econ Counselor, Public Affairs Officer, the Director of the MEPI Regional Office, and others. The Steering Group is coordinating and overseeing mission efforts to support the Entrepreneurship Summit and other elements of the Cairo and Marrakech speeches. ¶3. (SBU) Summit Participants: On September 16, Embassy submitted, via email to the desk, the names of three Tunisians as nominees for the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship (ref B). We will submit additional names with supporting information by November 30. Embassy will seek to engage Tunisia's strong private sector by putting forward a diverse list of business and social entrepreneurs from various sectors, regions, and social groups. ¶4. (SBU) Roundtables: The Embassy's Steering Group has begun planning two roundtable discussions for the month of December, hosted by the Ambassador for dialogue with key Tunisian stakeholders on the goals of the Summit. The first roundtable will bring together members of Tunisia's business establishment, while the second will target small-scale entrepreneurs, micro-credit lenders and borrowers, and other emerging leaders. We will report on the outcomes of these roundtables in late December. ¶5. (SBU) Stakeholder Outreach: The Ambassador and emboffs have been in consultation with government, private sector, and civil society actors on implementing the President's vision of comprehensive engagement defined by partnerships in areas of mutual interest. We will continue to seek their views as we move toward the Summit and beyond. The Embassy's Public Affairs Section will continue its active outreach to Tunisian media and civil society on the broad Cairo Initiative goals. Members of the Economic Opportunity Steering Group will take advantage of USG-funded programs in Tunisia to advance local entrepreneurship and economic opportunity. These include: - a $1.75 million, multi-year, multi-country program to promote small business and entrepreneurship opportunities for women; - a $200,000 program to support entrepreneurship and good governance through training, skills development, and mentoring; - a $150,000 program on technology-driven development with the Tunisian Agency for Research and Innovation; - a $150,000 program to link college graduates with the job market through internships and English language instruction; - a multi-year program providing English instruction to disadvantaged adolescents; - a $95,000 English-language youth immersion course with leadership and citizenship-building activities; - a $300,000 university partnership on biomass fuel processing engineering; - an $850,000 program for scientific partnership on tropical diseases; - a $500,000 community center for rural youth; and - a $500,000 rural women's vocational training center. GRAY