Tunisian Minister of National Defense Khaled Shili met with General Dagvin Anderson, Commander of the US Africa Command Africom, at the ministry's headquarters on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. The US Ambassador to Tunisia was also present. Shili praised the military cooperation between Tunisia and the United States, describing it as a long-standing strategic partnership characterized by its depth, diversity, and continuous development. He noted that this cooperation includes logistical and technical support, training, and joint military exercises, citing the success of the African Lion 26 exercise as an example of the interoperability and operational readiness of both countries' armed forces. Shili expressed Tunisia's desire to expand this partnership into new areas, including defense technology transfer, strategic cooperation, and intelligence sharing, to address regional and international geopolitical instability and growing security challenges. He highlighted Tunisia's role as a strategic Mediterranean location, a factor of stability and security in the region, and a regional hub for military training capable of hosting multinational exercises. Shili also expressed confidence in the upcoming Tunisian-American Joint Military Commission meeting in September in the United States, which will assess bilateral military cooperation and define future priorities. General Anderson commended the quality of military cooperation and the strategic partnership, acknowledging the Tunisian arm
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The Tunisian Federation of Artisans and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises FTAPME has directly appealed to the President of the Republic, Kaïs Saïed, regarding the accumulation of crises affecting Tunisians' daily lives. While reaffirming its trust in Saïed, the organization issued a severe assessment of the situation and urged him to profoundly review government actions. In a communiqué published on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, the FTAPME stated that the country is not just beyond a critical threshold but is now "submerged" by difficulties. The federation, which has trusted Saïed since July 25, believes in his intentions to save the state, combat corruption, establish justice, and build a new Tunisia. However, it expressed "pain" and "fear for the country," feeling it necessary to convey the reality faced by citizens directly to the President. The FTAPME highlighted that after the COVID-19 pandemic, Tunisians now face a "new pandemic" of repeated electricity cuts, causing losses for citizens and businesses. These power outages have impacted economic activities, leading to merchandise losses, activity interruptions, and equipment damage. The President of the National Chamber of Restaurants, Islam Chaâbane, warned about the consequences for perishable goods requiring cold chain maintenance. The Confederation of Citizen Enterprises of Tunisia Conect also cautioned against the repercussions on production, productivity, competitiveness, and the investment climate. The FTAPME linked
Tunisia is actively campaigning to enhance its presence within African telecommunications bodies. Its embassy in Nigeria recently hosted a reception in Abuja to promote Tunisia's candidacy for the African Telecommunications Union Council and Fayçal Bayouli's bid for the organization's Secretary General position. This event took place during the 7th ordinary session of the African Telecommunications Union in Abuja, from July 16 to 24, 2026. The reception, which gathered several African delegations, highlighted Tunisia's advancements in information and communication technologies, digital transformation, and innovation. It also served as a platform for discussions with member states on strengthening continental cooperation and accelerating digital development in Africa. Mohsen El Antit, Tunisia's Ambassador to Nigeria, stated that the candidacies are supported by Tunisia's strong national experience in telecommunications and digital sectors. He affirmed Tunisia's readiness to share its expertise to support the continent's digital integration, aligning with the African Union's Agenda 2063. The ambassador also presented Tunisia's vision, which focuses on reinforcing African cooperation, developing skills, accelerating digital transformation, supporting innovation, and establishing a more efficient and inclusive African Telecommunications Union. Fayçal Bayouli outlined his program, detailing his vision for modernizing the organization's operations and adapting its actions to member
A group of young developers has launched a participatory application called "BlackoutTN" to allow citizens to report electrical incidents and track the real-time status of power in different areas of Tunisia. This initiative comes in response to increasing power cuts and criticism regarding the communication from the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company Steg. Steg's CEO has rarely spoken, primarily to justify the cuts as necessary to maintain grid balance and prevent a general system collapse. Steg has mainly published provisional load shedding schedules, but these have been criticized for their imprecision and unreliability, with many regions experiencing outages far exceeding announced times. BlackoutTN enables citizens to report power cuts, voltage problems, or electricity restoration. It also allows users to view the network's real-time status based on community-reported information. The creators aim to provide a participatory tool for citizens to monitor the situation on the ground, complementing official information. The data displayed relies on user declarations, which contribute to the platform's reliability. The developers encourage citizens to use, report incidents, and widely share the application to enhance its effectiveness and collective participation. The application is accessible at https://blackouttn.web.app.