HIBAPRESS
Algeria and Tunisia have announced the signing of a new defense agreement, officially described as aiming to enhance military cooperation between the two countries. However, the true content of the agreement raises much suspicion within Tunisian circles, which see it as a new step to pull Tunisia further towards the Algerian sphere of influence.
During the era of President Kais Saied, Tunisia has gradually transformed into a country dependent on Algeria economically, security-wise, and diplomatically, after maintaining a degree of balance in its regional relations. This agreement comes to deepen that dependency, especially with Tunisia's reliance on Algerian oil and the continued influence of Algeria in border files and sensitive sovereign decisions. Tunisian sources warned that the huge disparity in capabilities between the two armies makes the agreement unequal from the start, as the Algerian defense budget exceeds its Tunisian counterpart by about 18 times, which practically means that the Tunisian army will enter into a "follower and followed" relationship instead of a real partnership. The statement of the Tunisian Ministry of Defense tried to soften the picture by talking about a "comprehensive" and "strategic" agreement that extends the cooperation signed since 2001, but it did not convince the Tunisian street or the observers, who considered that talking about "trust and mutual respect" are mere diplomatic phrases to embellish the reality of increasing Algerian influence within Tunisia. The size of the difference between the two countries is clearly visible: Algeria with a defense budget of nearly $25 billion, compared to Tunisia, whose budget does not exceed $1.4 billion. A difference that consolidates a new reality that makes the defense agreement a cover for consolidating Algerian guardianship over Tunisian military decisions.
