Egypt's Al-Sisi Signals Support For His Tunisian Counterpart Saied

Egypt's foreign minister on Tuesday said that his country's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi "supports" the exceptional measures recently taken by his Tunisian counterpart.

Sameh Shoukry's comments came during his meeting with Kais Saied at the Tunisian Presidential Palace in Carthage, according to a statement by the Tunisian Presidency.

According to the statement, Shoukry said that his country "trusts the wisdom of the (Tunisian) head of state and his ability to lead this proper constitutional path at a steady pace, and wishes Tunisia and its people success and a better future."

The statement added that Shoukry conveyed the message to Saied from al-Sisi in person, without disclosing its content.

Shoukry also conveyed to Saied "expressions of respect and appreciation for President al-Sisi, and absolute support for the historical measures taken by the President of the Republic to achieve the will of the people, ensure Tunisia's stability and take care of its interests."

For his part, Saied affirmed, according to the statement, his "keenness to continue strengthening the existing coordination and cooperation relations between the two countries, stressing that Egypt's security and stability is part of the security and stability of Tunisia."

Last week, in moves that alarmed the international community, Saied dismissed the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority with the assistance of a new prime minister.

Tunisia has been seen as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among a group of Arab countries that witnessed popular revolutions in the early 2010s that toppled their ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.

Al-Sisi himself came to power in 2013 after toppling Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first elected president, in a military coup.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat -