Year: 2017

Tunisia PM Will Go Ahead With Painful Policy Despite Opposition

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Tunisia will continue with a package of painful economic policies, Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said on Tuesday, despite resistance from labor unions and business associations to changes that will raise taxes and put thousands out of work. The North African country is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund to speed up policy changes and help its economy recover from militant attacks in 2015 that hurt its vital tourism industry. Tunisia plans to raise value-added and other taxes and lay off about 10,000 government workers as part of the 2018…

Jordanian delegation calls for promoting economic ties with Tunisia

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Presidents of Jordan’s Chambers of Commerce and Industry called for removing obstacles hindering the development of economic exchange between Jordan and Tunisia, and promote mutual partnership between the private sectors in both countries. The Jordanian officials gave the remarks during meetings the Jordanian economic delegation held in Tunis, on Tuesday, with the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA) and Tunisia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in the presence of a number of businessmen and investors from both countries. The Jordanian delegation called for organizing exhibitions for direct sale…

International Education Month enriches campus life

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Like previous years, during the first few weeks of November, the International Education Month is celebrated on campus. The international club, SPICES, organizes this event. It all began with the International Education Week, which is a national event, and the club expanded it to the week before Thanksgiving. The purpose of having a month dedicated to international education is to teach students, staff and faculty about the different cultures and traditions around the world. Every year, different countries are represented. Last year, West Liberty had 27 countries and although this year…

Results of Tunisian renewables tender expected soon – report

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The results of Tunisia’s first renewable energy tender will be announced within a month, Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) reported on Monday, citing energy minister Khaled Kaddour. Speaking at the BGS Solar Summit in Tunis, the minister said that 69 companies have taken part in the tender. Tunisia launched a tender calling for the supply of 210 MW of electricity generation capacity from wind and solar photovoltaics (PV) earlier this year. The Ministry for Energy, Mines and Renewable Energies released a calendar with two deadlines for the auction, with bids for…

UK Queen world’s oldest head of state after Mugabe steps down

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Queen Elizabeth, at 91, is already Britain’s longest reigning monarch, a record she took from her great-great-grandmum Queen Victoria.  Tuesday saw Robert Mugabe end his 37-year reign as Zimbabwe’s president when he resigned under pressure form the country’s militia. While Mugabe’s departure is being hailed as a historic move for the African nation, it also made Queen Elizabeth the world’s oldest head of state.  At 91, Queen Elizabeth is already Britain’s longest reigning monarch, a record she took from her great-great-grandmum Queen Victoria in September 2015. Sheikh Sabah IV Ahmad…

Members of Libyan parliament signal backing for U.N. transition proposals

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Libya’s eastern-based parliament voted on Tuesday to approve some U.N. proposals aimed at unifying the divided North African nation, although major obstacles remain for a deal to stabilize the oil producer. The U.N. launched a new round of talks in September to end years of turmoil in Libya following a 2011 NATO-backed uprising and unite the rival governments and parliaments in Tripoli and the east.  Choosing the members of the presidency and the government, and settling the question of military leadership are seen as the biggest hurdles to any deal.…

Horizon 2020: information day on funding opportunities in Tunisia

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An Information Day on funding opportunities under the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme will be held tomorrow, 21 November in the Tunisian city of Gabès. The event will bring together researchers from national-leading research centres and practitioners interested in the H2020 programme.  Since its association with Horizon 2020 (the EU’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation) in 2016, Tunisia has been stepping up its efforts to improve the participation of its institutions in the programme. To this purpose, a special Programme Management Unit for Research and Innovation (PMURI) has been…

Tunisia obtains observer status of West African bloc

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Tunisia has just obtained observer status in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemais Jhinaoui told reporters here on Monday. Jhinaoui also announced the signing of an agreement protocol with the West African intergovernmental organization to put in place an economic roadmap between Tunisia and this African body. The protocol requires the implementation of an action plan that defines the sectors involved in this multilateral economic partnership, including agriculture, trade and development. “For the moment, Tunisia will take part, as an observer, in the next…

Tunisian and Egyptian tourism rebounds from adversity

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Along the brightly lit alleys of the World Travel Market (WTM) exhibition at London’s Excel centre this month, it seemed experts on every stand had a story to tell. For Caribbean islands, ravaged by hurricanes in September, the talk was of overcoming the legacy of natural disasters causing hundreds of deaths and damage estimated in the billions of dollars. The region attracted a record 30 million visitors in 2016 and predicts further growth this year, although market expansion is expected to slow down following the hurricanes. On other stands, economic…

Assessing Tunisia’s Performance: Slow Progress in a Turbulent Region

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Tunisia’s future will be shaped by the capacity of its leaders to introduce smart and innovative reforms. The Libyan crisis just across the border has had a huge impact on the small North African country, making the Tunisia-Libya interplay more complex – in contrast to Tunisia’s relations with Algeria, which were helpful to enact bold actions against terrorism. A number of defining events took place over the summer and early autumn this year in Tunisia. First, President Beji Caid Essebsi’s asked the National Assembly to allow Tunisian women to marry…