Cablegate: Tunisia May Subordinate Long-Term Resolution Of

VZCZCXYZ0027
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTU #0860 3271618
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231618Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7002
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS TUNIS 000860

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

ECA FOR DONNA IVES; ALSO FOR NEA/PPD AND NEA/MAG

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAO TS
SUBJECT: TUNISIA MAY SUBORDINATE LONG-TERM RESOLUTION OF
FULBRIGHT PROBLEMS TO A LARGER FRAMEWORK FOR EDUCATIONAL
COOPERATION

Sensitive but unclassified. Please handle accordingly.

1. (SBU) Summary: In a November 20 meeting, the Public
Affairs Officer (PAO) raised with Dr. Jelel Ezzine (the new
Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of
Higher Education (MOHE)) the problems with the operation of
the Fulbright program in Tunisia. Ezzine suggested that the
long-term solution to Fulbright issues lay in creating a
larger framework for educational cooperation between the
United States and Tunisia. While permission for four
pre-doctoral Fulbrighters to continue their research
in-country may be forthcoming, the Tunisians may subordinate
the issue of resolving inconvenient deadlines for submitting
doctoral research proposals to a larger discussion of
educational goals. End summary.

2. (SBU) The Public Affairs Officer met on November 20 with
Dr. Jelel Ezzine, the new Director of International
Cooperation at the Ministry of Higher Education (who is,
effectively, the Minister,s chief-of-staff), and raised the
problems we have had with the operation of the Fulbright
program in Tunisia. The most pressing issue is the lack of
approval for four doctoral fellows to begin their research in
January. A second problem is the unrealistic deadlines
routinely imposed by the Ministry on submitting Fulbright
doctoral research proposals for approval by the doctoral
commissions at Tunisian universities where the researchers
will be affiliated.

3. (SBU) Dr. Ezzine said that he valued the exchange of
scholars and saw educational exchange as an important part of
the cooperation between our countries, but drew a distinction
between what he felt were "serious" projects (science,
technology, and engineering research done by post-doctoral
fellows) that accorded with Tunisia,s overall development
plan on the one hand, and projects which were "peripheral" to
it (i.e., doctoral dissertation topics in the humanities) on
the other. The PAO pointed out that doctoral dissertation
researchers in such areas as engineering were not likely to
do research in Tunisia but would probably stay in the United
States. Instead, he urged Ezzine to view doctoral
dissertation researchers in the social sciences and
humanities as people who would return to teach a new
generation of American university students and would be more
inclined to communicate a positive picture of his country and
greater understanding of the issues in the Middle East.
Ezzine seemed to be eager to move on from this argument and
reiterated that he would like Fulbright issues to be
considered within a larger higher educational "framework"
between the two countries.

4. (SBU) Although Ezzine did not share our sense of urgency
over resolving the chronic problem of deadlines for
submitting research proposals, his general attitude seemed
very positive toward the United States and the Obama
administration. He mentioned that he had studied in the
United States for nine years and had a PhD in engineering
from Georgia Tech. He praised President Obama's June 4 Cairo
speech highly and indicated that the purpose of the meeting
with the PAO was to see what concrete proposals we were
willing to come up with to flesh out the offers the President
had made to the Arab/Muslim world in the educational and
science/technology fields. He remarked repeatedly that
cooperation in higher education was sought-after but that it
should serve both countries' priorities. Among possible
subjects that he felt such a framework might include were:
English-language teaching, energy and green technology,
engineering, management and public administration, and pure
scientific research.

5. (SBU) Comment: Our sense from the meeting is that there
is reason to hope that approval for four graduate students to
study at Tunisian institutions of higher learning, a
precondition for them to continue their doctoral research in
Tunisia, may be forthcoming soon. Ezzine accepted a list
with the scholars, names and said he would look into the
matter. The long-term problem of unrealistically early
deadlines is not likely to be resolved soon. The
Ambassador,s appointment with the Minister of Higher
Education, Lazhar Bououni, on November 25 may provide a
better sense of how the MOHE wishes to proceed on the larger
issue of educational cooperation. End comment.

GRAY

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