Tunisia: An Investors' Conference to "Restore Confidence"
9 September 2014
Read by 1694 persons
Tunisian is hosting an investors' conference on Monday aimed at "restoring confidence" in the country. The country's economy has been weakened by the 2011 revolution, and it boasts of being the only "hope" for the success of the Arab Spring.
Co-organized by France and chaired by the Tunisian and French Prime Ministers Mehdi Jomaa and Manuel Valls, this conference, entitled "Invest in Tunisia: start-up democracy", will bring together 30 countries, about twenty international institutions and dozens of private companies.
Tunisia will present to the participants "22 major projects ready to be implemented" with a total cost of around 12 billion dinars (over 5 billion euros), according to the Minister of Equipment Hédi Larbi. These projects include the development of a deep-water port in Enfidha, south of Tunis, and the construction of a dam in the north-west of the country.
The government will also present to the private sector investment opportunities in several sectors, including industry, energy, transport and tourism.
But beyond the financing of projects, the main objective of the conference remains, according to the authorities, to restore the confidence of investors and donors in Tunisia, by presenting a "strategic vision" including a program of structural economic reforms.
"We will define (...) a clear economic vision to create an attractive framework for investors," said government spokesman Nidhal Ouerfelli to the press.
The conference "is an opportunity to share this vision with our partners" and to explain Tunisia's willingness to move "from a planning state to a strategic, regulatory state," added Mr. Ouerfelli.
It is a matter of "projecting a message of hope and optimism, that the State is there to stay," added the Minister of Finance Hakim Ben Hammouda.
- 'Consolidating the political transition' -
Tunisian authorities regularly praise, despite the upheavals that Tunisia has experienced since the 2011 revolution, the "success" of the political transition, with the adoption of a consensual Constitution and a "national dialogue" that allowed a very divided political class to agree on a way out of the crisis after, in particular, the assassination of opponents in 2013.
Since the resignation in January of the cabinet led by the Ennahda Islamists, a technocratic government has been at the helm of the country. Legislative and presidential elections are scheduled for October 26 and November 23 respectively to provide Tunisia with lasting institutions.
"The challenge today is to consolidate the political transition through sustained and job-creating economic recovery," according to the government.
"The success of the transition as a whole depends on the success of the economic transition," insisted Mr. Ouerfelli.
The Tunisian economy has indeed suffered greatly from the consequences of the revolution. Instability, political crises and social movements have paralyzed the country and fueled economic weakness over the past three years.
Tunisia recorded only 2.1% growth in the first half of the year, a level lower than in 2013 and insufficient to absorb unemployment, especially since state coffers are empty.
The government is expected to give way to a new team after the elections, and the timing of Monday's conference has raised questions.
"The next government, whatever its color, will face the same challenges," replied Finance Minister Hakim Ben Hammouda. "We are preparing the future so that confidence returns to Tunisia (...) and to prepare the ground for the new government in 2015."
AFP
Liberation.fr
Published September 8, 2014.
Posted online September 9, 2014.
Co-organized by France and chaired by the Tunisian and French Prime Ministers Mehdi Jomaa and Manuel Valls, this conference, entitled "Invest in Tunisia: start-up democracy", will bring together 30 countries, about twenty international institutions and dozens of private companies.
Tunisia will present to the participants "22 major projects ready to be implemented" with a total cost of around 12 billion dinars (over 5 billion euros), according to the Minister of Equipment Hédi Larbi. These projects include the development of a deep-water port in Enfidha, south of Tunis, and the construction of a dam in the north-west of the country.
The government will also present to the private sector investment opportunities in several sectors, including industry, energy, transport and tourism.
But beyond the financing of projects, the main objective of the conference remains, according to the authorities, to restore the confidence of investors and donors in Tunisia, by presenting a "strategic vision" including a program of structural economic reforms.
"We will define (...) a clear economic vision to create an attractive framework for investors," said government spokesman Nidhal Ouerfelli to the press.
The conference "is an opportunity to share this vision with our partners" and to explain Tunisia's willingness to move "from a planning state to a strategic, regulatory state," added Mr. Ouerfelli.
It is a matter of "projecting a message of hope and optimism, that the State is there to stay," added the Minister of Finance Hakim Ben Hammouda.
- 'Consolidating the political transition' -
Tunisian authorities regularly praise, despite the upheavals that Tunisia has experienced since the 2011 revolution, the "success" of the political transition, with the adoption of a consensual Constitution and a "national dialogue" that allowed a very divided political class to agree on a way out of the crisis after, in particular, the assassination of opponents in 2013.
Since the resignation in January of the cabinet led by the Ennahda Islamists, a technocratic government has been at the helm of the country. Legislative and presidential elections are scheduled for October 26 and November 23 respectively to provide Tunisia with lasting institutions.
"The challenge today is to consolidate the political transition through sustained and job-creating economic recovery," according to the government.
"The success of the transition as a whole depends on the success of the economic transition," insisted Mr. Ouerfelli.
The Tunisian economy has indeed suffered greatly from the consequences of the revolution. Instability, political crises and social movements have paralyzed the country and fueled economic weakness over the past three years.
Tunisia recorded only 2.1% growth in the first half of the year, a level lower than in 2013 and insufficient to absorb unemployment, especially since state coffers are empty.
The government is expected to give way to a new team after the elections, and the timing of Monday's conference has raised questions.
"The next government, whatever its color, will face the same challenges," replied Finance Minister Hakim Ben Hammouda. "We are preparing the future so that confidence returns to Tunisia (...) and to prepare the ground for the new government in 2015."
AFP
Liberation.fr
Published September 8, 2014.
Posted online September 9, 2014.
