Tunisia is Italy's "privileged and irreplaceable" partner and can count on Rome's support in its reformist drive which is key to fighting Islamic extremism, foreign minister Angelino Alfano said on Monday.
"Tunisia is our privileged and irreplaceable interlocutor," Alfano said in the Sicilian capital Palermo. He was addressing a presentation of the Italian foreign ministry's 2018 cultural programme in the Middle East and North Africa, 'Italy, Culture, Mediterranean'.
"Italy stands shoulder to shoulder with the Tunisian government in its reformist drive which is essential to the battle against extremism," Alfano continued.
Tunisian foreign minister Kemaies Jhinaoui and the mayor of Palermo Leoluca Orlando were also among speakers at Monday's presentation.
