The creation of a Tunisian-Libyan continental trade corridor towards sub-Saharan African countries was officially announced at a joint ministerial meeting held at the headquaters of the Ministry of Trade and Export Development.
The meeting was chaired by Minister of Trade and Export Development Kalthoum Ben Rejeb and Libya's Minister of Economy and Trade Mohamed Al-Hwej.
Attendees laid emphasis on the importance of upgrading the border crossing of Ras Jedir, in line with international standards.
"The aim is to make of this area a trade gateway to Africa to foster economic integration with sub-Saharan Africa," the ministry said.
The two officials emphasised the importance of establishing a tripartite partnership between Tunisia, Libya and Africa and increasing trade to TND 5000 million in the coming years.
The meeting offered the opportunity to announce officially the establisment of a joint rapid response team in a bid to address potential challenges in Ras Jedir. A taskforce was also set up to step up cooperation in food security.
An agreement was also reached to create a commission entrusted with following up the implementation of the project of an inland trade corridor as part of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The Libyan minister expressed support for Tunisia's application for technical and logistical support with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to develop the border area.
The two ministers called for boosting trade and expanding cooperation.
On the sidelines of the meeting, memoranda of understanding were signed in a wide variety of fields, including the organisation of fairs and scaled-up compelemntarity between the free trade zones of both countries.
The volume of trade between Tunisia and Libya in 2022 amounted to TND 3027 million against TND 2020 million in 2021, that is a 49.8% rise.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse