Tunisia’s status as a “non-NATO ally” of the United States has been approved on 10th July 2015. This important decision was taken by US State Department. Now, Tunisia has become the 16th country to become a part of NATO ally of United States.
In May 2015, US President Barack Obama had declared Tunisia as its non-NATO ally while hosting his Tunisian counterpart Beji Caid Essebsi at the White House.
Advantage:
- The strong relations between both democracies will help to maintain peace and security in Tunisia
- It will also help Tunisia to counter the rising threat of jihadist groups especially ISIS in the region.
- The United States is hoping to strengthen Essebsi, who in December became the first democratically elected leader in Tunisia’s 60-year history.
Major non-NATO ally (MNNA) is a designation given by the United States government to close allies who have strategic working relationships with U.S. Armed Forces but are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The MNNA status does not automatically include a mutual defense pact with the United States. It does confer a variety of military and financial advantages that otherwise are not obtainable by non-NATO countries.
History:
1. MNNA status was first created in 1989.
2. In 2014, a bill was introduced to the United States Congress to grant major non-NATO ally status to Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine
About Tunisia:
- Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa.
- Tunisia has a high human development index.
- capital:Tunis
- language: Arabic
- President: Beji Caid Essebsi
- Prime Minister:Habib Essid
