The United States must ramp up its support for Tunisia and press for a political settlement in neighboring Libya if the fledgling democracy is to succeed, employers federation president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ouided Bouchamaoui told Al-Monitor.

Bouchamaoui has been sharing that message with US and international officials this week during a whirlwind visit to Washington at the invitation of the World Bank and the International Republican Institute. She said solving the crisis in Libya would solve 80% of Tunisia's problems by improving security and allowing its economy to take off.

"It's chaos in Libya. People are crossing borders without any control," she said. "And Tunisia is suffering because of this."

The recent terrorist attacks that have decimated the Tunisian tourism sector, she pointed out, have forced the country to further ramp up a defense and security budget that has been growing by leaps and bounds since the start of the Arab Spring. Those investments are crucial, she said, but come at the detriment of domestic social spending at a time when young Tunisians enthralled by the promise of democracy are clamoring for jobs and a shot at a better life.