The National Dialogue Quartet comprised four key organizations in Tunisian civil society: the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT, Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail), the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA, Union Tunisienne de l’Industrie, du Commerce et de l’Artisanat), the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH, La Ligue Tunisienne pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme), and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers (Ordre National des Avocats de Tunisie). The Nobel Peace Prize for 2015 was awarded to this Quartet, not to the four individual organizations as such. The broad-based national dialogue that the Quartet succeeded in establishing countered the spread of violence in Tunisia.

During the celebration, H.E Mr Tarek Azouz, Ambassador of Tunisia to India spoke to India Empire’s Assistant Editor Misha Singh in a brief interview Tunisia’s National Dialogue Quartet has been awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize for helping the country’s transition to democracy. How does that make you feel?

As I said in my short speech, I am very proud because we have shown the world that there is another way other than war. If you engage in dialogue, you can do it. Our struggle for independence was the same, we did not rage a war, and we instead tried to go through negotiation on the table. Sometimes, when the things get bogged down, we progress and we got our independence at the least price. So this is the basic feature in Tunisian DNA. Tunisia commits itself to Dialogue which is a fundamental feature of its foreign policy. The celebrations of this award will continue throughout the coming year as we decided in Tunisia to dedicate the year 2015-2016 to the Nobel Peace prize and celebrate Tunisia’s commitment to Consensus and Peace.

What does the Nobel Peace Prize mean to people of Tunisia?

Does it inspire them to further work in this direction?

Of course, it is an encouragement for us and for this new Tunisian model. Look at the degree of destruction in Libya, Syria and Yemen and loss of human lives. In Tunisia, the ingredients for success are there. This was because we have always invested in human resource, education and healthcare. You see Tunisia is at a very nice position in terms of human resource index. We are committed to further consolidate our nascent democracy in order to achieve the aspirations of the Tunisian people towards greater progress and prosperity.Tunisia needs, at this important juncture of its history, the political and economic support of its friends, such as India, to put the economy back on track and to protect the successful Tunisian model, which remains a work in progress.

Do you agree that fight against terrorism should be an absolute priority for every nation?

The International community should get along and engage genuinely in combating this phenomenon that is harming everybody, be it in Lebanon, Tunisia, France or United States, everywhere. This is an issue that needs to be tackled very seriously; it is not about speeches it is about action.