Day: August 25, 2017

Tunisia’s heritage sites stay empty, even as tourism picks up

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Foreign visitors may now be returning to the country after the Arab Spring and ISIL-claimed attacks, but many say the government is failing to make the most of the country’s history  Bulla Regia in north-west Tunisia is one of the country’s most important archaeological sites.Famous for its partially underground Roman houses, designed to protect their inhabitants from the heat, the ruins are also home to remarkably well-preserved Roman mosaics. Yet on the day Salah Massai and his wife, Jessica, visit Bulla Regia, they are the only people there. “If this site was in Greece,…

Tunisia’s currency reserves recover slightly with World Bank loan

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Tunisia’s foreign currency reserves have risen slightly to 13.22 billion dinars, benefiting from the World Bank’s disbursement of a $500 million loan, a week after they fell to lows not reached for nearly three decades. Last week, reserves had fallen to 11.59 billion dinars ($4.76 billion), enough for just 90 days of imports, which officials and experts said was the weakest level since 1986. But according to figures posted on the central bank’s website late on Wednesday, the reserve has now recovered to 13.22 billion dinars ($5.43 billion), equal to…

Ecommerce in the Middle East: Small but Promising Market

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The Middle East, long a laggard when it comes to online shopping, caught the attention of the industry earlier this year when Amazon purchased Souq, a local online marketplace. New local ecommerce sites are also coming online. Middle East countries have some of the highest levels of per capita income but the area is an underpenetrated ecommerce market. Digital commerce accounted for less than one percent of the region’s gross domestic product in 2016, according to research firm Gartner Inc. “Today only 15 percent of the businesses in the region have an…

Britain gives Libya more than £9m to fight terrorism and people trafficking

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Boris Johnson unveiled the aid package during a visit to the north African country following talks with Prime Minister Fayez al Serraj. Britain has also offered to increase its engagement with the country’s law enforcement authorities, including the coast guard, which already receives Royal Navy training on dealing with migrants who try to cross the Mediterranean in an attempt to get to Europe. Libya will also be given £4m to support the removal of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), particularly in the city of Sirte, a former stronghold of…

Tunisia’s economic challenges: are they insurmountable?

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While the Tunisian government is drafting the country’s next budget, Fadhel Abdelkefi, its interim Finance Minister, who heads up the ministry of investment and international cooperation resigned (August 18, 2017) due to an ongoing conflict with the Tunisian customs service.  The very same day, however, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Tunisia’s long-term rating from Ba3 to B1, and maintained its negative outlook. Moody’s also downgraded other areas of the Tunisian economy, including the Central Bank’s foreign currency debt rating. These blows to the Tunisian economy are taking place amid a crisis…