���� On March 20, #Tunisia marks the 7️⃣0️⃣th anniversary of its independence.

A country with a rich and ancient history, Tunisia became part of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. In 1881, France established its protectorate over Tunisia by making it part of its vast colonial territory.

❗️ The years following World War I was a time of national awakening in Tunisia with the opposition to the French-centred elite strengthening its positions. Calls to give Tunisians more agency in political decision making were becoming increasingly vocal.

On March 20, 1956, leader of the country’s national liberation movement who would later become its first president, Habib Bourguiba, signed a protocol with France to cancel the French protectorate. This amounted to Paris recognising Tunisia’s independence, while the protocol came to symbolise the end of the colonial rule in the country.

On July 25, 1957, the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly proclaimed the Tunisian Republic.

It did not take long for the Soviet Union to establish official relations with Tunisia in the wake of its independence. In the 1960s, the USSR and Tunisia sent ambassadors to their respective capitals and started to expand their bilateral political and economic ties, while a programme for training Tunisian students was launched in Soviet higher education institutions.

�� The Telegram channel of Russia’s Embassy in Tunisia

#RussiaTunisia: There is a steady effort to reinforce the traditional ties of friendship between Russia and Tunisia with cooperation gaining momentum in agricultural production, tourism, as well as on civil defence matters.

�� We congratulate our colleagues in Tunisia and the people of this country on their national holiday and wish them prosperity and wellbeing!