Year: 2018

Anger as Italy arrests Tunisian fishermen ‘rescuing migrants’

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Italy has been urged to release six Tunisian fishermen who were arrested at sea on suspicion of smuggling migrants. Supporters of the fishermen, from the south-east coastal town of Zarzis, say their colleagues were simply aiding a boat in distress. The boat, carrying 14 people, was trying to reach the Italian island of Lampedusa last week. One of the arrested fishermen is Chamseddine Bourassine, president of the Association of Fishermen in Zarzis. He is a local legend in the town, reports the BBC’s Rana Jawad in Tunis. A small protest…

Tunisian-British Trade and Investment Forum due next October in London

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The Tunisian-British Trade and Investment Forum is due to be held in London on October 10 -12, 2018, according to a note from the Tunisian Embassy in the British capital, published by the Export Promotion Centre (CEPEX). The forum is part of efforts to raise awareness among Tunisian business community about the business opportunities offered by the United Kingdom, which is the 7th customer and the 15th largest supplier of Tunisia, with an annual trade volume of 1.4 million dinars. Minister of Industry and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in charge…

BWA Yachting Expand Operations to Tunisia

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One of the leading agency services for superyachts, BWA Yachting, has taken the move into North Africa by opening a new office in Tunisia. With offices in Spain, Corsica, Malta, France and Monaco, this move is set to cement BWA Yachting’s presence in the western Mediterranean. Spearheading the Tunisian operations will be Hatem Mrabet, a former local shipping agent with over two decades of nautical and hospitality experience. Mrabet appears confident in the move for BWA Yachting as he feels this is a case of being in the right place at…

Italy’s Diplomacy Is Floundering in the Mediterranean

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There’s no doubt that the Mediterranean Sea has played a decisive role in elevating Italy’s stature on the world stage. The Romans referred to it as “Mare Nostrum” (“Our Sea”), a rather self-explanatory term that attested to Rome’s quest for maritime dominance. Throughout the Middle Ages, Italian merchants staked generous amounts of money and energy on this maritime crossroads of civilizations, eventually dominating it for many years. The resulting emergence of the Maritime Republics (e.g. Venice, Genoa) represented the capstone of Italy’s commercial and diplomatic thrust in the Mediterranean. In…

Mideast draws more European tourists

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If middle east tourism remains competitive globally, it is down to key destinations, in particular, the  UAE, Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey. According to the latest Q2 data compiled by Expedia Group, the number of travellers visiting the Middle East from Europe is on the rise. The list of the top ten markets into the UAE include the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Switzerland – a total of six European countries. Arrivals from Europe to the GCC are set to grow for the period of 2018 to 2020 by around…

FOCAC Beijing summit to set new path for China-Africa cooperation

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As African leaders are gathering in Beijing for a summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), expectations run high for the two sides to strengthen their already solid friendship and further enhance pragmatic cooperation to bring tangible benefits to the Chinese and African people. The summit, scheduled for Sept. 3-4, aims to build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future, further dovetail China’s Belt and Road Initiative with African development, set a new path for a higher level of China-Africa cooperation, and deepen people-to-people exchanges. “We believe that…

Tunisia plans 1.7 GW solar complex

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The solar park is set to be built across three phases and will be located in Tunisia’s southernmost region of Remada, in the Sahara Desert. The project was conceived by the Tunisian Government to support organic farming and improve security at the border with Libya. The Tunisian Government is preparing the ground for the development of a giant solar energy project in the Remada region, in Tunisian Sahara, in the country’s southernmost province of Tataouine. Director of Renewable Energy for the government-run National Agency for Energy, Agence Nationale pour la…

Tunisian Telecommunications engineer Houssem Haji invents autonomous receiver for a Mars exploration orbiter

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The receiver, whose major stages of design and implementation were conducted by the Tunisian Telecommunication Engineer Houssem Haji, is the first of its kind and surpasses all previous designs in this area. The project had taken 40 months of analysis, design and research. It had also taken 20 months of implementation, and it is now in the final phase of testing. Houssem Haji, native of the delegation of Magel Bel Abbes in the governorate of Kasserine, studied communication engineering in Tunisia. He worked in some companies and then moved to…

Tunisia’s economy starts to rebound but structural issues persist – IMF

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IMF approved $249m loan to Tunisia in July as part of four-year reform plan. Tunisia’s economy is displaying signs of economic recovery following difficult years since the Arab Spring, but remains dependent on consumption and imports, with weak investment and high levels of unemployment, prompting calls from the International Monetary Fund to cut its fiscal deficit and stabilise public debt. “There are some encouraging signs that economic activity is picking up,” said Björn Rother, IMF economist and head of staff for Tunisia, in a note on Friday following a visit…

Signs of economic progress in Tunisia overshadowed by political instability

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Despite the gains, many have yet to find relief from economic hardships that have hit the country since 2011. The Tunisian economy showed signs of growth during the second quarter of 2018, giving ammunition to Prime Minister Youssef Chahed in his promise to turn the country’s economic indicators “green by the end of 2019.” However, the relatively strong numbers did little to help Chahed shore up political support in a government that has been fractured by infighting. Tunisia’s Islamist Ennahda Movement, the main backer in Chahed’s coalition government, said the…