Tunis — Current regional and international issues were the focus of the meeting on Wednesday between President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Mr. Jeffrey Feltman U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

Following the meeting, Mr Feltman declared that "the United State of America and Tunisia are bound by long-standing relations of friendship", adding that "The US is driven by the will to develop these relations in different areas.

We discussed with the President of the Republic a set of ideas and addressed many issues of high concern to the United States, these include, in particular, our commitment to boost the peace process in the Middle East and the recent Iraqi elections. We also addressed other issues on which we sought to express our views directly to President Ben Ali", said the US Assistant Secretary of State.

The meeting was attended by the State Minister, Special Advisor to the President of the Republic and Official Spokesman for the Presidency of the Republic and the U.S. ambassador in Tunis.