Day: March 26, 2024

Tunis: Tunisia is taking part in GLOBAL INDUSTRY 2024 on March 25-28 at the Parc des Expositions de Villepinte in Paris, at the initiative of the Export Promotion Centre (CEPEX). The Tunisian national pavilion at this 2024 event covers an area of 93 m2, shared between CEPEX and eight companies from the Mechanical and Electrical Industries sector. "This participation is of strategic importance, offering an exceptional platform for exploring new markets, sharing ideas with major players in the industry and discovering the latest technological advances, through the various themes of the exhibition, with emerging opportunities for partnerships and collaborations, ranging from assembly to additive manufacturing, via plastics processing and mechatronics," CEPEX said on Tuesday. GLOBAL INDUSTRIE 2024 counts 2,300 exhibitors, 25% of them are international companies from 34 countries, in 15 industrial sectors. The aim of the show, which is expected to attract 40,000 visitors, is to bring together the industrial ec osystem, showcase solutions and innovations in all fields of manufacturing industry, and inspire industrialists in their quest for innovation. According to CEPEX, the Mechanical, Electrical and Electronic Industries sector is the main driving force of Tunisian exports, accounting for 46% of the country's total exports. Exports from this sector rose from TND 24,494.2 million in 2022 to TND 28,388.7 million in 2023, a growth rate of 16%, and a coverage rate from 81.45% in 2022 to 92.57% in 2023, bringing the trade balance from a deficit of TND 5579.4 million to a deficit of TND 2276.4 million, a 60% improvement. Tunisia's ten main markets for the Mechanical and Electrical Industries sector are, with their respective shares: France (31%), Germany (22.9%), Italy (15.8%), Spain (3%), Libya (2.5%), the United Kingdom (2.3%), Algeria (2.2%), Poland (2.1%), Austria (1.8%) and Morocco (1.5%). Since the creation of this exhibition in 1977, Tunisia has kept its presence and was even the guest of honour in 2014. So urce: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: The second phase of the Support of Sustainable Development in the Agriculture and Artisanal Fisheries sector in Tunisia (ADAPT) programme, funded by the European Union and aimed at encouraging sustainable private investment in the agricultural and fisheries sectors in Tunisia, has been launched. This new phase encourages and supports a greener and more inclusive economy, states the European Union delegation to Tunisia in a press release issued on Tuesday. Implemented by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), the ADAPT programme focuses on environmentally-friendly production methods. With a budget of pound 6 million (the equivalent of TND 20.30 million) for this new phase, the ADAPT Invest Support Fund seeks to encourage private initiatives that contribute to the ecological and sustainable transition of agri-food production systems in Tunisia. This approach aims to support the resilience and competitiveness of the agricultural and fi sheries sector, while preserving the environment and maximising the value of Tunisia's natural and cultural heritage. Interested project promoters, whether family farms, SMEs or groups in the agricultural or fisheries sector, are invited to submit their applications via an online platform before March 18, 2025. A contribution ceiling of pound 70,000 per project has been set, thereby helping to support a wide range of initiatives. Eligible projects will receive a contribution in the form of a grant covering up to 14% of the amount of a loan granted by a financial or leasing institution. The projects funded under this programme must show their contribution to environmental, economic and socio-territorial sustainability, so promoting environmentally-friendly practices, reinforcing food security and creating attractive local jobs, notably for young people and women. Funded by the European Union with pound 44.4 million, the ADAPT programme which was launched in 2020 and will run until 2028, targets private in vestment as a driver of economic, social and environmental change. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Members of Parliament, on Tuesday, began discussing the organic bill to approve the agreement between the Tunisian government and the Qatar Fund for Development for the establishment of a fund office in Tunisia. During the plenary session, MP of the 'Voice of the Republic" bloc Adel Dhiab asserted that this agreement will primarily focus on economic development in Tunisia, ensuring that it "will not encroach upon national sovereignty." According to him, this agreement, through the allocated funds, will promote local development, thereby contributing to the creation of job opportunity for young people. He noted that Qatar is the foremost Arab investor in Tunisia, with 88 agreements concluded between the two countries, covering various development sectors and benefiting 42,000 Tunisians. On his part, independent MP Abdelhalim Boussama stated that Tunisia currently needs to boost foreign investments and invigorate economic diplomacy amidst a challenging financial situation marked by a liquidity shorta ge. He urged the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy to revitalise economic diplomacy with African and Arab countries to enhance their investments in Tunisia. He also proposed investing a portion of the fund's profits in projects in the fields of education, environment, start-ups, and youth. The MP recalled that Qatar has funded projects worth $90 million, in addition to commitments made during the Tunisia Investment Forum 2022, to support Tunisia with an amount of $1250, including $250,000 for the financing of development projects. On the other hand, MP of the "Sovereign National Line" bloc Ahmed Saidani denounced "pressures" to quickly submit this bill to the ARP, arguing that it "touches upon national sovereignty." He suggested that the adoption of this bill would undermine the "credibility of the Presidency and Prime Ministry," as it does not differ from "other agreements adopted over the past decade that have undermined national sovereignty and plundered the country's wealth." Likewise, deput y of the "For the Victory of the People" bloc Ali Zaghdoud emphasised that any funding or partnership with the State of Qatar should not be established outside the nationally adopted development plans and their overarching goals and objectives. "It should also not come at the expense of national policy and sovereignty," he added. For her part, independent MP Basma Hammami stated that "the quest for development must occur with states that engage in effective investments and respect Tunisian law." Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: A new "distance selling" service has been launched on Tuesday by the national flag carrier Tunisair through its call centre. "Customers can book, buy a ticket, a service or even change a Tunisair ticket at any time, with the help of one of the company's teleoperators," the carrier said. "They can also access flight fares and timetables, as well as the associated fare conditions, to book and pay in complete security via a secure link, which will be sent to them instantly," Tunisair specified. The call centre handles customer calls 7 days a week, from Monday to Saturday from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm, and on Sundays from 8.00 am to 2.00 pm. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis:The stock market continued its upward trend, closing Tuesday up 0.31% at 8,864.90 points, according to data from the Tunis Stock Exchange. Trading volumes remained modest, with a total turnover of TND 3.229 million. The most impressive performance of the session came from the shares of Amen Bank, which rose by 4.13% to 37.49 TND. The shares of "PLACEMENTS DE TUNISIE SICAF" also performed well during the session, rising by 3.5% to TND 1.18. Similarly, BTE shares rose by 3.37% to TND 3.98, reflecting the general bullish trend. However, CELLCOM saw the sharpest decline of the session, with its shares falling 4.19% to TND 1.37. UADH shares also declined by 4% to TND 0.480. STIP shares were at the bottom of the Tunindex, falling 3.92% to TND 3.43. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: A TND 750-million agreement on the construction of the main section of the new Bizerte Bridge was inked on Tuesday by Slah Zouari, Director General of Bridges and Highways at the Public Works Ministry and the General Manager of the Sichuan Road and Bridge Co (SRBG). The signing ceremony was attended by representatives of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The new project includes creating a permanent link between the A4 motorway and the city of Bizerte. This initiative aims to improve mobility and the quality of life of the region's locals. The new bridge in Bizerte is funded by the EIB to the tune of pound 123 million (around TND 416 million), in partnership with the AfDB, which is providing pound 122 million, and the Tunisian government. This agreement concerns part 2 of this project which covers the main section of the bridge. This is a 2070 m long section crossing the canal with three spans, the main one (293 m long) is supported by two singular V-shaped piers framing the navigation canal. The signing of this agreement marks the start of the construction works, scheduled for April 2024 with an estimated constrcution period of 38 months. Public Works and Housing Minister Sarra Zaafrani Zanzri said this bridge will help ease traffic and boost trade between Tunisia, Algeria and Libya. The Minister said this "company won the international call for tenders launched on February 26, 2021, in which companies from several countries took part. The construction of this bridge requires a high level of expertise in the most modern technologies in this field, and we are counting on our Chinese partners to complete the work on time and to the required quality". "We also encourage Tunisian companies. The part 1 and part 3 of the project were assigned to two national companies and I invite the banling sector to support them so that they can honour their commitments," she added. For his part, the SRBG official affirmed his company's keenness to complete the works on time. The EIB representative in Tunisia Jean-Luc Revéreault reiterated the EIB's commitment to support development and infrastructure projects in Tunisia. AfDB Deputy Director General for North Africa Malinne Blomberg pointed to the strategic aspect of the Bizert Bridge project which will help boost the competitiveness of the region and the country, encourage trade with neighbouring countries and create jobs. Bizerte is currently linked to the A4 motorway by a mobile bridge, which carries around 44,300 vehicles a day. The new link will help traffic to be channelled out of the city centre and free up transit through the mobile bridge, as well as easing traffic. The project will also support regional economic activity by facilitating access to the Bizerte Port and stimulating local development. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Tunisia will repay foreign financial debts in the form of a loan worth 1.5 billion dinars in April 2024, after having paid 3 billion dinars last February, Finance Minister Sihem Boughediri Nemsia has announced. "Tunisia's financial obligations in 2024 amount to about 25 billion dinars, and we paid 3,000 million dinars in one day," Nemsia said during a plenary session of the parliament, which discussed a draft law to open an office of the Qatar Fund for Development in Tunisia. In a related context, Nemsia recalled that the financing needs for 2024 amount to about TND 28 billion, given the lack of options other than boosting growth, which remains dependent on boosting investments. The government has recently approved several development projects, she pointed out. The minister stressed that in 2024 it is necessary to attract investment and increase growth rates more than usual by boosting investment and finding financing. Nemsia acknowledged that there are difficulties in terms of financing and that t he government has tried to provide financing from the domestic market, whether in the form of tax resources, but to meet commitments to repay loans, it is necessary to stimulate investments that add value and increase tax revenues. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: The Assembly of People's Representatives rejected a draft law approving a headquarters agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tunisia and the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) to open a QFFD office in Tunisia during a plenary session on Tuesday, after it failed to receive an absolute majority of votes. 51 MPs voted in favour of the bill, 39 MPs voted against it and 25 MPs abstained. The session was attended by Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri Nemsia, who stressed that the law in no way affects Tunisia's national sovereignty, adding that it will boost investment and development projects. In her answers to MPs' questions, Nemsia stressed that Tunisia welcomes development projects and that the government, which prepared the 2024 Finance Law, wants to attract investment and promote development and has no other choice, especially in view of the desire to achieve higher growth rates. She added that the bill did not contain any provisions related to the abandonment of the principle of nationa l sovereignty. Rather, it contains "provisions that preserve the country's sovereignty and national choice". She noted that the choice of projects to be financed by the fund is up to the Tunisian state, and that the country office will take into account the Tunisian side's comments on the projects, as well as the Qatari staff's obligation to respect the regulations in force in Tunisia. Nemsia pointed out that Tunisia has already ratified several headquarters agreements, such as the headquarters agreement with the Sahel and Sahara Observatory and the headquarters agreement with the Arab Organisation for Communication Technologies, the Regional Centre for Project Services and the Arab Accreditation Agency. Tunisia has bilateral financial cooperation agreements with the African Development Bank, the French Development Agency, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the German Agency for International Cooperation. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: The Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) is expecting an improvement of GDP growth in the first quarter of 2024, benefiting in particular from the gradual recovery of the agricultural sector after a historic contraction of 11% in 2023, which reduced annual economic growth by 1%. The BCT added in a statement issued at the end of its executive board meeting chaired by new governor, Fethi Zouhair Nouri, that this expected improvement in the growth rate is also due to the momentum recorded in both merchandise exports and the inflow of tourists in the first two months of 2024, which should help boost growth. According to the statement from the board meeting held on March 22, the central bank has also raised its growth forecasts for the first three months of this year, with the development of equipment imports compared to last year. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: A small Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday at the Government Palace in the Kasbah recommended the preparation of a final version of the new Water Code, taking into account the comments made by those present at the meeting, to be submitted to the Cabinet for ratification. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani and attended by Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries Abdelmonem Belati, Minister of Health Ali Mrabet, Minister of State Property and Land Affairs Mohamed Rekik and Minister of Environment Leila Cheikhaoui. In his opening remarks, Hachani praised the participatory approach that has been followed for years in preparing the draft of the new Water Code and reaching this final stage, according to a statement from the Prime Ministry. He stressed that the water code adopted in 1975 was no longer up to date with the current water situation in Tunisia, particularly in view of the impact of climate change on the Mediterranean region, which requires the protection of water resources and the strengthening of their management. According to the Minister of Agriculture, the new draft Water Code aims to reform the management of public water resources, establish integrated and sustainable management mechanisms, adapt to climate change and preserve and enhance water resources, which falls within the preventive and anticipatory dimension of the project. At the level of the organisation and governance of public ownership of water, the new Water Code provides for the establishment of various structures at the sectoral, national and regional levels and establishes the right to drinking water in accordance with the Constitution. The draft code emphasises the need to stabilise public ownership of water, regulate the management of water abundance and drought, and improve the governance of water resources. By adopting a new water code, Tunisia aims to establish a national information system to track public property and provide for the use of non-conventional water and feeding water tables . Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse