Relationship dossier
Italy
Tunisia
Relationship assessment
Durable cooperation on migration, economic support and energy, alongside recurring disagreements over migration management.
Italy toward Tunisia
+35Italy has supported Tunisia through financial and economic assistance and has pursued cooperation on migration management. The two governments also participate in cooperation around the Elmed electricity interconnection. Italian policy has combined support for Tunisia with pressure for stronger action to limit irregular migration and facilitate returns.
Tunisia toward Italy
+35Tunisia has cooperated with Italy on migration management and has participated in bilateral energy cooperation, including the Elmed interconnection project. These arrangements form part of a broader bilateral framework established by the 1998 treaty of friendship, good-neighbourliness and cooperation.
Overall relationship
+35A longstanding treaty framework and cooperation on migration, financial support and energy provide a substantial basis for bilateral engagement. The relationship is not uniformly aligned: migration management and returns have generated recurring friction, while Tunisia’s economic and political circumstances complicate cooperation.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Italy and Tunisia maintain a durable framework for cooperation, including a 1998 treaty of friendship, good-neighbourliness and cooperation, collaboration on migration management, and work on the Elmed electricity interconnection. Italy has also supported Tunisia through financial and economic assistance. Cooperation coexists with disagreements over migration and returns, as well as concerns about Tunisia’s economic and political stability.
Areas of tension
- Disagreements over efforts to curb irregular migration across the Mediterranean.
- Friction over migrant returns and the extent of Tunisia’s cooperation with return arrangements.
Key developments
Italy and Tunisia signed a treaty of friendship, good-neighbourliness and cooperation, establishing a durable framework for bilateral relations.
The two governments advanced cooperation on the Elmed electricity interconnection between Tunisia and Italy.
Italy announced financial support for Tunisia during high-level bilateral engagement in 2023.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of migration cooperation and return arrangements are unclear.
- The timeline and implementation of the Elmed interconnection remain uncertain.