Poland–Tunisia relations

Poland–Tunisia relations
Map indicating locations of Poland and Tunisia

Poland
Tunisia

Poland–Tunisia relations are bilateral relations between Poland and Tunisia. Both nations are full members of the World Trade Organization, the Union for the Mediterranean and the United Nations.

History

Spitfires of the Polish Fighting Team at Goubrine Airfield in 1943

An honorary consulate of Poland was established in Tunis in 1932, and elevated to a consulate in 1943, however, it was closed in 1945.[1]

Polish and French-led Tunisian troops both fought against Nazi Germany in World War II. Tunisian prisoners of war were held by the Germans alike Polish and other Allied POWs in the Stalag II-B and Stalag II-D POW camps, located in Czarne and Stargard, respectively.[2][3] Both Polish and Tunisian POWs were subjected to poor treatment by the Germans, who regarded them as "racially inferior".[4] The Polish Fighting Team fought against Germany in Tunisia in 1943. Poles and Tunisians were part of the large Allied coalition in the Battle of Monte Cassino of 1944.

Poland recognized Tunisia in 1956, shortly after the Tunisian declaration of independence. Bilateral relations were established in 1959. A cultural cooperation agreement between Poland and Tunisia was signed in Tunis in 1966.[5]

Future Tunisian President and dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was an ambassador of Tunisia to Poland from 1980 to 1984.[6]

In 1993, a double tax avoidance agreement was signed between the two countries in Tunis.[7]

In 2000, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali paid an official visit to Poland.[8]

Modern relations

Following the Tunisian Revolution of 2010–2011, Tunisia sought Poland's help in democratizing the country and dealing with the ousted dictatorship. The first study visit of Tunisian officials and NGOs to Poland took place in 2012.[9] Further such Polish-Tunisian meetings were held in the following years, and in 2013, Łukasz Kamiński, President of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) visited Tunis and participated in a seminar regarding Polish experience in transitional justice.[10] Polish experts assisted Tunisians in drafting of the act on transitional justice.[9] In 2014, the President of the IPN was present at the inauguration of Tunisia's Truth and Dignity Commission in Tunis.[9]

Three Polish nationals were killed in the 2015 Bardo National Museum attack in Tunis.

In October 2021, Poland donated some four tons of medical equipment and supplies, including ventilators and pulse oximeters, to Tunisia to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia.[11]

Diplomatic missions

Embassy of Tunisia in Warsaw
Honorary Consulate of Tunisia in Toruń
  • Poland has an embassy in Tunis and an honorary consulate in Sousse.[12]
  • Tunisia has an embassy in Warsaw and an honorary consulate in Toruń.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ceranka, Paweł; Szczepanik, Krzysztof (2020). Urzędy konsularne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1918–1945. Informator archiwalny (in Polish). Warszawa: Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych. p. 403. ISBN 978-83-65681-93-5.
  2. ^ Aniszewska, Jolanta (2011). "W obowiązku pamięci... Stalag II D i formy upamiętnienia jeńców wojennych w Stargardzie Szczecińskim". Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny (in Polish). 34. Opole: 16. ISSN 0137-5199.
  3. ^ Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 394. ISBN 978-0-253-06089-1.
  4. ^ Aniszewska, p. 14
  5. ^ Umowa o współpracy kulturalnej między Rządem Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej a Rządem Republiki Tunezyjskiej, podpisana w Tunisie dnia 27 kwietnia 1966 r., Dz. U., 1967, vol. 35, No. 173
  6. ^ "Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali Biography". Biography.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  7. ^ Konwencja między Rządem Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej a Rządem Republiki Tunezyjskiej w sprawie unikania podwójnego opodatkowania w zakresie podatków od dochodu, sporządzona w Tunisie dnia 29 marca 1993 r., Dz. U., 1994, vol. 78, No. 357
  8. ^ "State visit of the President of the Republic of Tunisia, Mr Zine El Abidine Ben Ali". President.pl. 28 March 2000. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "President of the IPN at the inauguration of Tunisia's Truth and Dignity Commission - Tunis, 9 June 2014". Institute of National Remembrance. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Visit of the President of the Institute of National Remembrance in Tunis, 24-25 June 2013". Institute of National Remembrance. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Polska pomoc dla Tunezji w związku z pandemią COVID -19". Portal Gov.pl (in Polish). 26 October 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Konsulaty honorowe". Portal Gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 11 December 2023.