The Confederation of Tunisian Citizen Entrprises (CONECT) International presented its action plan for the year 2018 which focuses on two main axes, namely the development of export and investment, at its annual conference held on Wednesday in Tunis.
Adnen Bouassida, Vice President of CONECT International in charge of the French-speaking Africa and Maghreb Pole, said that CONECT International has scheduled for the year 2018 five regional actions and three missions of foreign delegations in Tunisian regions.
Besides, three studies will be finalised in 2018. They include a study and report recommendations for barriers to export, a report recommendations for the reform of foreign exchange regulations and a study on labeling products and the creation of the brand.
In addition, CONECT International has planned 6 training courses for member companies of the Confederation (finance, export, leadership …). There are also 7 actions promoting the image of Tunisia in Kuwait, Benghazi, Sofia, Toulouse, Stockholm, Moscow and New York, as well as 8 business missions in Benin, Algeria, Bulgaria, Gabon, Sweden, Russia, Ethiopia and China.
Furthermore, CONECT International continues to focus on strengthening partnerships in more than 35 countries. In this connection, a representation of CONECT International will be inaugurated in Sweden.
In another connection, the 22nd International Business Development Forum «Futurallia» will be organised for the first time in Tunisia in November 2018, in the presence of several Europeans, one hundred French investors and more than 500 Tunisian, African and Arab investors. It will provide, according to the vice president, an opportunity to improve the image of Tunisia, its economic relations and its investments.
In turn, President of CONECT Tarek Cherif announced that CONECT International, in collaboration with CONECT, whose vision is to contribute to the positioning of the Tunisian economy in a dynamic of international influence, works for the international regional rapprochement.
Its development strategy focuses on export and investment. At the level of export, he estimated that since 2011, the Confederation bets on this field which is, according to him, the future of Tunisia.
So far, the export sector is experiencing improvements supported by the devaluation of the Tunisian dinar. Tarek Chérif urged to draw up an export balance sheet on the basis of euro-euro and euro-dollar in order to assess the achievements and improve them accordingly. He revealed the problems of the export climate, including financing, logistics and cost.
As regards investment, he revealed that the growth rate is essentially a result of investment. For this reason, he called to believe in the future of Tunisia through investment.
“In order to boost investment, we need an attractiveness of the country and a competitiveness of the company. This requires a focus on the problems of the sector so that the company can grow and create jobs and wealth. If there is no funding, there is no investment, “he went on saying.
He added that it requires an incentive and a state policy to internationalise Tunisian companies, where funding is a priority. He cited, in this connection, the example of Morocco which excels on the African market through its banking subsidiaries which represent 50% of the banking system in Africa, its diplomatic presence, the development of its air and sea transport , its representations of insurance and so on. “Morocco is today the 2nd largest investor in Africa with more than 4 billion dollars in 2017, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
In the case of Tunisia, the President of CONECT said that at the end of 2017, Tunisia exports to Africa only 2.8% of its total exports. “It is a very low rate but we can do better given the importance of financing, “says Tarek Cherif.
Cherif, called for strengthening the presence of Tunisian banks and insurance companies on the continent, in addition to the establishment of real economic diplomatic representations.
Speaking about the measures announced by the Prime Minister for the benefit of export and investment, Tarek Chérif stressed that the CONECT does not assess intentions but rather the results, saying that Tunisian businessmen want to be treated on an equal basis with their competitors. He concluded that the Higher Export Council will meet monthly to evaluate the results and act to have a pragmatic view of the export file.
TunisianMonitorOnLine (MNHN)
