Summary:

On Monday, 17 April 2023, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad began an official visit to Tunisia as both countries look to accelerate the normalization of diplomatic relations. Mikdad initially met with Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar on Monday and then reportedly met with President Kais Saied on Tuesday.

FM Mikdad’s visit comes after recent stops in Saudi Arabia and Algeria, as the Assad regime in Syria looks to orchestrate its reintegration into the Arab economic and diplomatic sphere. Saudi Arabia has been leading this effort, with multiple other states following suit, including Tunisia.

Tunisia had historically been a strong critic of the Assad regime in the post-Arab Spring period as Syria moved toward brutal crackdown and civil war and Tunisia moved toward a democratic reopening.

However, President Saied’s administration has been signaling a desire to move toward normalization, a process that was accelerated for many Arab countries by the February earthquake in North Syria that prompted numerous countries to send aid to Syria and resume some form of dialogue.

Outlook:  

The broader movement among Arab states to normalize relations with the Assed regime has continued without significant criticism from Europe and the United States.

Normalization was an inevitability, even as the humanitarian crisis and, in some locations in Syria, armed clashes, continue between the different sides of the conflict.

The move toward normalization by Tunisia specifically is unlikely to impact the risk environment in the near term, but speaks to the sort of allies that Tunisia may continue to identify with in the future.

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