(TAP) - French Ambassador to Tunisia André Parant, on a visit to the governorate of Gafsa, affirmed his country's commitment to the multidisciplinary hospital project in the town of Gafsa. In a statement to the media made at the end of a meeting held on Monday with Governor of Gafsa, Nader Hamdouni, the diplomat reiterated France's commitment to the completion of the said project as soon as possible, stressing the efforts made to overcome the difficulties that have prevented work from starting, particularly those linked to the procedures relating to the tendering process. He also spoke of the imminent launch of studies relating to the project, financed by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) with 220 million dinars, as part of a conversion of part of Tunisia's debts to France into investment capital. For his part, the Governor of Gafsa stressed the importance of setting up this health facility in the region, as well as the "pressing need for more specialist doctors", noting the readiness of the regional authorities to do everything possible to help speed up its completion. The meeting between the French Ambassador to Tunisia and the Governor of Gafsa also focused on bilateral cooperation projects between the two countries, in particular ways of increasing French investment in Tunisia. In this respect, the ambassador announced that an economic delegation from the French Chancellery in Tunisia would be visiting the governorate of Gafsa to make contact with the region's economic players, via the Chamber of Commerce and the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), in order to examine cooperation opportunities and boost French investment in Gafsa.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse