Bin Ali receives the Italian foreign minister

Tunisian President Zein al-Abidin Bin Ali received on Thursday the Italian foreign minister Lamberto Dini and discussed with him bilateral relations and regional issues.

Following the meeting, Dini said that the meeting was an occasion to know about the important development recorded by bilateral cooperation during recent years, confirmed by facts and figures, manifested in the increase of trade exchange or in the number of Italian companies working in Tunisia. He asserted the care of the two countries to support cultural cooperation, stressing Italy's backing to Tunisia at the level of the European Union.

Dini, on the other hand, called in a joint press conference he held with his Tunisian counterpart al-Habib Bin Yahya to resuming the negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel without setting halting violence as a precondition. He explained: " we do not have to wait until violence is halted in order to resume the negotiations. We have to study all means that will avail the resumption of the dialogue."

Meanwhile, Bin Ali expressed in a telephone call with the US President George Bush " his utmost concern over the grave conditions in the Middle East and the escalation and siege on the Palestinian areas."