IMF urges Tunisia reform plan, social support

The International Monetary Fund on Saturday encouraged Tunisia to establish a reform plan and bolster social support, as the virus-hit country struggles to balance its budget. “Tunisia faces two immediate challenges: saving lives and livelihoods until the pandemic wanes, and starting to bring economic imbalances back to a sustainable trajectory,” an IMF team said in a statement. The statement was released after virtual consultations with Tunisian authorities in late December and earlier this month. “A broad-based and credible reform plan backed by Tunisian society and international development partners is critical…

Tunisia and Libya discuss oil sector cooperation

Credit goes to NOC Facebook page Tunisian ambassador to Libya, Lasaad Lajili, met with Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), Eng. Mustafa Abdallah Sanalla. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss means to strength the two countries’ cooperation in the oil sector. The Tunisian ambassador visited the NOC headquarters at Tripoli, at the invitation of the Corporation’s Head, read a statement issued by the NOC on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. The two official discussed ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation between the NOC and…

Tunisian Exporters See Opportunities Abroad

Tunisian olive oil companies will export at least 70,000 tons of bottled product every year starting in 2025.  This is the rosy forecast of the country’s exporters, who sent 27,000 tons of packaged olive oil abroad in 2020, Olive Oil Times reports. According to the president of the Tunisian Chamber of olive oil exporters, Chihab Ben Slama, local producers are poised to benefit from the growing worldwide demand. “In the last three decades, consumption of olive oil in the world has doubled and it tripled in non-producing countries, as it happened in China…

Al Badr group builds new power plant in Borj El Amri

Al Badr group is building a new power plant in Borj El Amri, with Tunisian expertise. The construction works for the gas turbine power plant in Borj El Amri (Mornaguia) with a production capacity of 624 MW have just been completed. This power station, which will contribute to promote the national capacity of electricity production, and thus industry, and which will also meet the requirements of population growth, is being built by the Tunisian group Al Badr through the companies SOCOBAT, PIRECO, and ETELEC. This project reaffirms the know-how of…

CEPEX: Support measures for prospecting 10 African markets

New support measures for Tunisian companies have been announced by the Export Promotion Center (CEPEX) for the prospecting of 10 African markets. Tunisian companies wishing to carry out prospecting missions in Kenya-Tanzania-Ethiopia-Djibouti-Nigeria-Cameroon-Benin-Rwanda-DRC-Ghana can benefit from the following incentive measures: reimbursement of 70% of the cost of the plane ticket and grant of 70% reimbursement of an allowance of 600 DT per day, with a ceiling of 5 days of prospecting per country. According to CEPEX, these benefits extend to a maximum of two representatives for each company and per prospecting…

TUNISIA: €132m KfW for rainwater management and energy efficiency

The Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the German development agency, signs two loan agreements worth 132 million euros with the Tunisian authorities for rainwater management and energy efficiency in public buildings in Tunisia. The agreements were signed recently at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad, between officials of the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the German development agency and representatives of the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries (MARHP). KfW has pledged €111 million for the implementation of the Storage and Flood Protection Programme (SPCI), afrik21 reports.…

KFAED grants 263 MDT loan to Tunisia

A financing agreement between Tunisia and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), worth 263 million dinars (equivalent to 30 million Kuwaiti dinars – KWD), was signed on Tuesday 29 December 2020 in Kuwait-City. This credit is intended to finance the project for improving drinking water networks in urban areas in Tunisia for the benefit of National Water Distribution Utility (SONEDE), the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Investment Support said in a press release published Tuesday in Tunis. This is the 4th financing granted by the State of Kuwait,…

ITES draws up an action plan for digital sector take-off

A study entitled “Scenarios for the end of 2020 and rescue and exit strategy: the digital and digital vector” recently drawn up by the Tunisian Institute for Strategic Studies (ITES), defined the action plan needed to enable the digital sector to express its full potential in the short term. This plan revolves around two strategic objectives, consisting of ensuring decent life for Tunisians during the COVID period and developing the digital industry. To achieve this objective, a series of strategic orientations have been adopted. The aim is to take advantage…

Rebuilding the Potential of Tunisian Firms

The World Bank Group today released its annual Tunisia Economic Monitor, which provides timely, comprehensive assessments of current economic trends in Tunisia and analysis of the country’s broader development challenges.  Tunisia is expecting a sharper decline in growth than most of its regional peers, having entered the COVID-19 crisis during a period of slow growth and rising debt levels. After an expected 9.2 percent contraction in 2020, growth is expected to temporarily accelerate to 5.8 percent in 2021 as the pandemic’s effects begin to abate. However, pre-existing structural weaknesses are expected…

JICA launches a study on the massive integration of renewable energies

The Tunisian branch of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has just announced the launch of a study in the renewable energy sector. The initiative is part of the cooperation between Japan and the Tunisian government in the renewable energy sector. Relying mainly on solar and wind energy, the North African country intends to produce the equivalent of 3,500 megawatts (MW) in ten years, afrik21 reports. The Japanese-Tunisian cooperation on renewable energies is entering the operational phase. A study programme in the energy and renewable energies sector has just been…