US official meets UN-backed prime minister in Tunisia

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan met Fayez al-Sarraj, head of Libya’s UN-backed unity government on Saturday in the Tunisian capital. According to Sarraj’s press office, he met Sullivan, who is in Tunisia as part of his official visits, in the country’s capital, Tunis. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations, political development in the country, economic cooperation and investments in petroleum sector, the prime minister’s office statement added. It also said Sarraj demanded Sullivan support the state’s anti-terror organs by arming them “sufficiently.” Noting the U.S. support…

Social and cultural dynamics in the Arab world

Filled with faceless, fragmented bodies, Thameur Mejri’s paintings express the physical and psychological effects of recent upheavals in the Middle East Emerging Tunisian artist Thameur Mejri’s work examines the social, political and cultural dynamics in the Arab world, especially Tunisia by focusing on the linkages that contemporary mass media creates between masculinity, violence and war. In his first solo show in Dubai, Heretic Spaces, the artist is presenting mixed media paintings, drawings, collages and a video that express the physical and psychological effects of the recent upheavals in the Middle…

Why should investors consider funding Tunisian startups?

Intilaq, a Tunisian incubator and fund officially started in 2014 in a partnership between Microsoft, Ooredoo, and other funding partners. Few years later, Intilaq became a leading Tunisian startup investor, and invested 12 millions Tunisian dinars (US$ 5 millions) in 26 startups that operate in various sectors such as education, health, agriculture, and ecommerce. Bassem Bouguerra, an ex-Yahoo and a Tunisian entrepreneur took the lead of Intilaq’s Tunis office in April 2017. He spoke to Wamda about the impact of the investments Intilaq made and shared his opinion about the Tunisian…

China’s Belt and Road Initiative to help Tunisian economy revive from slowdown

Basly, now the president of China-Tunisia Cooperation Council, hailed the initiative as “a perfect supportive approach for economic development.” He said China has been “a significant investment partner” for Tunisia that “has the potential to contribute to the development of the Tunisian economy.” “China has become a global economic locomotive in various fields, such as space, automobile, technology, real estate and agri-food,” Basly said. “Tunisia could play a role in the relocation of Chinese manufacturing industries, because the production cost in China is more expensive than that in Tunisia.” “It…

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Petras Auštrevicius, MEP and Vice-President of the ALDE Group

EP Petras Auštrevicius: EU Moving From Development Assistance to Political-Economic Partnerships in North Africa EUBULLETIN talked in an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Petras Auštrevicius, member of the European Parliament and a vice-president of the ALDE political faction where he also acts as a coordinator for ALDE in the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI). EUBulletin: Can you please elaborate a little bit on the European Neighbourhood Policy vis-à-vis the North African region? Back during the Arab Spring series of revolutions, the EU admitted some mistakes concerning its policies in North Africa and…

Microfinance – ‘it has symbolic value’

Essma Ben Hamida, co-founder of Tunisian microcredit institution Enda, was present when Ivanka Trump helped launch a loan program for women at the recent G20 summit in Hamburg. DW spoke to her in Tunis. DW: You were recently in Hamburg to attend the G20 summit where you participated in a panel (main picture fourth person from left between Ivanka Trump and World Bank head Jim Yong Kim) over the so-called Ivanka Fund, which is expected to be endowed with $325 million to promote women entrepreneurs in developing countries. How do…

Interview: China plays important role in promoting stability, development of Africa: Tunisian FM

China has played an important role in promoting the stability and economic development of African countries, Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui said Thursday. In an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency, Jhinaoui said China has developed cooperation with African countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefits. Jhinaoui, who is on a five-day visit to China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, said China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has always been committed to promoting African stability and settling regional hotspot issues…

Can Trump and Moon Quell North Korea’s Saber Rattling?

Over the last few months, we have heard the Trump administration voice the same worn out foreign policy that we have heard from previous administrations. There are the usual carrots: we remain open to negotiations as long as North Korea makes concessions; or sticks: “if China doesn’t solve the problem, we will”, and “the sword stands ready.” Where is a potentially new and more proactive solution? Could the upcoming summit meeting between President Trump and South Korean president Moon produce an opportunity for the two leaders to coordinate and eventually…

Daley Thompson: ‘My best travel tip? Be nice to the person who serves you coffee on a plane’

How often do you travel? Once a month for work. I was in Spain and Switzerland recently. What do you need for a perfect holiday? Only two things: friends and family. They’d tell you I’m boring because I like to stick to my exercise routines. Your earliest memory of travelling abroad? I was 15 and it was a family holiday to Tunisia. I remember being excited about going on a plane for the first time. Tunisia was dirty and friendly – just like where I lived in Notting Hill Gate,…

Hafez Ghanem, Vice-President for MENA, World Bank, on factors to promote faster and stronger economic growth

How can Tunisia create a more inclusive growth model? GHANEM: Tunisia’s economic model has delivered positive outcomes and helped the country set up the building blocks of a healthy and productive economy. Yet, it has failed to include large segments of society, particularly youth, women and citizens from the interior regions. Achieving inclusive growth will require action on three fronts. First, education reform is very important to ensure that young people are prepared to seize economic opportunities and compete in a 21st-century marketplace. Tunisia, like other countries in the region,…