This joint declaration, signed by Frédérique Vidal, Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, and Slim Khalbous, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, acts the opening of the CEA Regional Office for Africa and the Middle East, led by Dr. Nidhal Ouerfelli, high regional representative to the chairman of the CEA for the countries of the Southern Mediterranean, the Middle East and Africa.

The purpose of this structure will be to strengthen cooperation on strategic topics such as energy and digital transitions, technological research and basic research and to facilitate their operational monitoring. It will cover the partnerships and projects of the CEA established through the CEA LinkLab Technology Platform in Tunis and the CEA's collaborations in the fields mentioned with the countries of the Southern Mediterranean, the Middle East and Africa.

On the side-lines of the Prime Minister's visit, an amendment to the CEA-TELNET framework agreement was signed by Daniel Verwaerde, Chairman of the CEA and Mohamed Frikha, CEO of Telnet Holding, in the presence of the French and Tunisian ministers for higher education and research, positioning the CEA LinkLab as an operational component of the new regional representation of the CEA.

The implementation of this initiative will enable France and Tunisia, and more generally Africa and the Middle East, to have a real scientific and technological showcase. This reflects the political will to strengthen collaboration at the regional level.

The chairman of the CEA also took advantage of this trip to Tunis to meet Khaled Kaddour, the new Minister of Energy, Mines and Renewable Energy and Moncef Harrabi, chief executive officer of the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas (STEG). During this first meeting, discussions focused on strengthening the bilateral collaborations between the CEA, the Ministry and the STEG in the field of renewable energies and smart grids.

TELNET HOLDING is a private Tunisian industrial group of product engineering and consulting in innovation and high technologies. It specializes in software and hardware engineering, network and telecom integration and mechanical engineering.

CEA LinkLab is a technology platform established by an agreement signed in August 2010 and renewed in July 2016 between the CEA and the Tunisian group TELNET, working on technology transfer in the fields of ICT and new Energy Technologies