U.S. Donation of Escort Vehicles to the Ministry of the Interior

Good afternoon, Mr. Head of Government, UNOPS Country Director, and Ministry of Interior colleagues.

I am pleased to be here today to attend this donation ceremony, which is the first major delivery in an overall program to improve the capacity of the Ministries of Interior and Justice to safely process and adjudicate terrorism-related offenses in a manner consistent with international standards for human rights.

In addition to these 24 vehicles, 12 state-of-the-art transportation vehicles are currently in production, scheduled for delivery in late summer.  Together, these vehicles will allow for the safe and secure transport of terrorism suspects as they are processed through the judicial procedures.

Mr. Head of Government, we stood together just two months ago and signed the security assistance strategy MOU between the United States and Tunisia – a true milestone in our security cooperation partnership.

The capabilities being provided today with this donation directly support the counterterrorism capacity improvements envisioned in our joint MOU.

Security undergirds Tunisia’s democracy and guarantees its economic development. I look forward to continuing our work together to strengthen this important partnership.

Thank you, Mr. Head of Government.