German Offshore Companies Satisfied with Their Investment in Tunisia
8 May 2009
Read by 1612 persons
The Tunisian-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce held its 30th general meeting on Tuesday in Gammarth. Present were Mr. Mohamed Nouri Jouini, Minister of Development and International Cooperation; Hartmut Schauerte, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology; and Horst-Wolfram Kerll, German Ambassador to Tunisia.
According to the 2008 annual report, presented by Ms. Dagmar Ossenbrink, the Chamber's director general, the AHK (570 members), of which 56% are Tunisian companies, 22% are German companies established in Tunisia, and 18% others, recorded very encouraging results.
Mr. Jouini emphasized that Tunisia currently offers real advantages for European investments in general, and German investments in particular, to prepare for recovery. He noted that the approximately 2,000 European companies established in Tunisia are deriving part of their growth potential from their Tunisian sites.
The Minister announced on this occasion that a promotional campaign on the strategic industrial study for 2016, called "looking for growth think Tunisia: The Euromed valley for industry and technology," will be launched on Wednesday jointly with UTICA and will begin in Europe in the coming days. This campaign will actually start in Germany, specifically in Nuremberg, from May 5, 2009.
Tunisia, he continued, is working to strengthen and diversify its economic relations with Germany, which is one of its main European partners.
In terms of trade, Germany currently accounts for approximately 7% of imports, mainly high value-added and high-tech products, and also about 7% of exports. These exchanges have increased significantly since the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union. Statistics show that exports and imports doubled between 1995 and 2008.
To date, Tunisia has 265 companies with German participation operating in various sectors, particularly high value-added activities such as electrical and electronic industries and automotive components.
For Tunisia, despite the repercussions of this crisis, particularly on the export sector due to the decline in external demand, the effects of the crisis remain relatively manageable so far, the Minister added.
Speaking, Mr. Kerll called on economic actors from both countries to invest in high value-added niches, emphasizing that the cooperation ties between Tunisia and Germany continue to strengthen.
Referring to the difficult international situation, the diplomat noted that German companies established in Tunisia have no intention of leaving the country and are, on the contrary, confident in their ability to cope with any potential impacts.
Energy security, renewable energies, and the environment, particularly areas related to climate change, are areas where German companies are world leaders and which can be niches to further strengthen the partnership with their partners in Tunisia, he indicated.
Mr. Schauerte stated that Tunisia, a country very close to Europe that is distinguished by its stability, represents a "very interesting partner for Germany" and a country where significant potential is available to German companies in various sectors.
He added that Tunisia and Germany would greatly benefit from working together to overcome the difficulties caused by the crisis and restore confidence in the business world through bilateral and international cooperation. In this regard, he called for focusing efforts on promoting SMEs, vocational training, and research and innovation, calling for further promotion of Tunisia as a location for young German entrepreneurs.
The results of the survey conducted by the AHK show that 64% of German companies established in Tunisia are satisfied with their investments in the country. Several of them have extended their projects.
Posted on May 8, 2009
Infotunisie
According to the 2008 annual report, presented by Ms. Dagmar Ossenbrink, the Chamber's director general, the AHK (570 members), of which 56% are Tunisian companies, 22% are German companies established in Tunisia, and 18% others, recorded very encouraging results.
Mr. Jouini emphasized that Tunisia currently offers real advantages for European investments in general, and German investments in particular, to prepare for recovery. He noted that the approximately 2,000 European companies established in Tunisia are deriving part of their growth potential from their Tunisian sites.
The Minister announced on this occasion that a promotional campaign on the strategic industrial study for 2016, called "looking for growth think Tunisia: The Euromed valley for industry and technology," will be launched on Wednesday jointly with UTICA and will begin in Europe in the coming days. This campaign will actually start in Germany, specifically in Nuremberg, from May 5, 2009.
Tunisia, he continued, is working to strengthen and diversify its economic relations with Germany, which is one of its main European partners.
In terms of trade, Germany currently accounts for approximately 7% of imports, mainly high value-added and high-tech products, and also about 7% of exports. These exchanges have increased significantly since the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union. Statistics show that exports and imports doubled between 1995 and 2008.
To date, Tunisia has 265 companies with German participation operating in various sectors, particularly high value-added activities such as electrical and electronic industries and automotive components.
For Tunisia, despite the repercussions of this crisis, particularly on the export sector due to the decline in external demand, the effects of the crisis remain relatively manageable so far, the Minister added.
Speaking, Mr. Kerll called on economic actors from both countries to invest in high value-added niches, emphasizing that the cooperation ties between Tunisia and Germany continue to strengthen.
Referring to the difficult international situation, the diplomat noted that German companies established in Tunisia have no intention of leaving the country and are, on the contrary, confident in their ability to cope with any potential impacts.
Energy security, renewable energies, and the environment, particularly areas related to climate change, are areas where German companies are world leaders and which can be niches to further strengthen the partnership with their partners in Tunisia, he indicated.
Mr. Schauerte stated that Tunisia, a country very close to Europe that is distinguished by its stability, represents a "very interesting partner for Germany" and a country where significant potential is available to German companies in various sectors.
He added that Tunisia and Germany would greatly benefit from working together to overcome the difficulties caused by the crisis and restore confidence in the business world through bilateral and international cooperation. In this regard, he called for focusing efforts on promoting SMEs, vocational training, and research and innovation, calling for further promotion of Tunisia as a location for young German entrepreneurs.
The results of the survey conducted by the AHK show that 64% of German companies established in Tunisia are satisfied with their investments in the country. Several of them have extended their projects.
Posted on May 8, 2009
Infotunisie
