According to a statement posted on the Elysee website, Hollande will meet his Tunisian counterpart Moncef Marzouki and members of the government.

　　The French president was also scheduled to close an economic forum in Tunis and hold talks with different local political parties, the statement added.

　　In his first two-day visit to the North African country, the head of state will express Paris' determination to support the democratic process in the country which has been disturbed by political unrest and a wide divide between secular militants and Islamists, more than two years after former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was ousted.

　　Citing an anonymous source close to the presidency, local broadcaster Europe 1 said French and Tunisian leaders will also discuss security issues, mainly the possible cooperation in fighting against terror threats on Libyan border.

　　Tunisia is one of France's closest Arab allies as Paris represents the North African country's key source of investment and tourists and absorbs about 32 percent of Tunisian total sales to foreign markets.