What should we expect with the arrival of the new US envoy to Tunisia? This is the question that the Tunisian executive must ask itself at this very moment. According to Al Arabiya English, which has this information from former and current executives of the American administration, it is Joey Hood who will hold the post of ambassador to Tunis. The man that the American president, Joe Biden and especially his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, would have chosen, will have a most delicate mission.
The last time Blinken mentioned Tunisia was in unflattering terms, following a series of acts and harsh criticisms against the trajectory taken by the Tunisian head of state, Kais Saied. Joey Hood, if his appointment is confirmed, will therefore land on very complicated ground and which will be more so with the upheavals around the legislative elections of December 2022.
Hood is said to be a seasoned diplomat, serving as senior deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs until April 15, according to the State Department’s website. He knows the Middle East very well, especially Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia where he forged his diplomatic skills. He also served as the acting director of the State Department’s Bureau of Iran Affairs.
The source adds that Biden is preparing to formalize his nomination, before passing the file to the Senate for approval…
It should be noted that Hood already knows Tunisia, he made a visit there last year to reaffirm Washington’s support for progress towards “ democratic, economic and security objectives ”. In the meantime, relations have become strained, culminating in the White House’s decision to strike out half of the financial support granted to Tunis in one go on the grounds that Kais Saied has gone too far beyond the nails set by the democratic transition…
