Year: 2018

Tunisian Foreign Minister says things are back to normal at Ras Jedir border

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Tunisian Foreign Minister, Khemais Jhinaoui, confirmed that the situation at Ras Jedir border crossing is returning to normal after reopening the way for Libyan passengers. Jhinoui said in a press statement on Sunday that he had held discussions with the Libyan Foreign Minister, Mohamed Siyala regarding the crisis of Libyan passengers travelling to and from Tunisia between Ras jedir and Ben Guerdane town. Earlier, The Deputy Chairman of Presidential Council, Ahmed Mietieq, stated that there was a possibility of a closure of the land border with Tunisia in the event…

Tunisia Economic City to apply the Locus Chain blockchain platform

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Locus Chain Foundation (LCF) has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Tunisia Economic City (TEC), the largest Mediterranean city project, to apply Locus Chain blockchain technology as its settlement currency and service platform Locus Chain is a Singapore-based foundation of next-generation blockchain platform with technical offices in South Korea and Japan. The cooperation agreement aims to apply blockchain platform to the entire city construction projects to be used as a base technology and settlement currency for various industries such as finance, communication, medical, shopping, automatic vehicle, AI, etc, aiming…

EU seeks Africa money to pay for migrant screening centers

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European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is urging EU member countries to put more money into an Africa trust fund as the bloc looks to set up migrant screening centers outside Europe. Mogherini said Monday that the fund “has proven to be useful, it has brought results and this is why we are asking for more money from member states.” EU leaders are set later this week to greenlight plans to screen migrants for eligibility as asylum-seekers at centers in countries including Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Niger and Tunisia.…

Tunisia, Indonesia sign preferential trade agreement

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Tunisia and Indonesia signed a preferential partnership agreement Monday at the Tunisia-Indonesia Business Forum held in Tunis. The agreement will stimulate the trade between Tunisia and Indonesia, which currently reaches about 80 million dinars (30.8 million U.S. dollars), said Tunisian Minister of Commerce Omar Behi. Tunisia exports dates to Indonesia and imports palm oil from this Asian country. “Our two countries are examining a possible free trade agreement,” Behi said. “The main objective of the agreement is to develop our trade ties in key areas, especially in agriculture, agri-food, textiles…

Chinese market to be main factor to revive Tunisian tourism

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With the sunset at the Mediterranean, a Chinese couple in their early sixties sat on the bench decorated with colorful blankets, enjoying the afternoon. They were chatting at ease, with two cups of mint tea and pastries on the small blue round table. Zhan Lijun, a 63-year-old retired teacher from Shanghai Municipality, said they came to the cafe on the cliff in Sidi Bou Said, after walking around the renowned resort village in Tunisia. Located 20 km away from the capital Tunis, Sidi Bou Said was on top of a…

Tunisia: ATCT organizes International JOB DAYS 2018

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The Tunisian Agency for Technical Cooperation (ATCT) is organizing at its headquarters the International JOB DAYS 2018, in partnership with the project “Lemma” during two sessions on June 27/28, 2018 and July 2-3, 2018. An official launch of this event will take place on June 27 at 9:00 in the ATCT auditorium, in the presence of the Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation, the Representative of the EU Delegation in Tunisia, members of the ATCT works council, international and national partners and other Tunisian institutional departments. 13 companies from…

Reported investments in industry drop 12.8% at end May 2018

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Investments reported in industry in the first five months of 2018 fell by 12.8 percent to 1.6 billion dinars compared to the same period of 2017, due to the decline in investment intentions in the mechanical and electrical industries sector by 54.4%, in the textile and clothing industry by 24.4% and in the agro-food industries by 23.6%. According to the May 2018 business bulletin, published by the Investment Promotion and Innovation Agency (APII), the number of projects reported reached 1905 during this period, increasing by 6.2% compared to 2017. These…

Turkey’s Erdogan claims election victory, opposition wary

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Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AK Party claimed victory in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary polls on Sunday, overcoming the biggest electoral challenge to their rule in a decade and a half. However, the main opposition party said it was too early to concede defeat and said it believed Erdogan could still fall short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a presidential runoff on July 8. “Our people have given us the job of carrying out the presidential and executive posts,” Erdogan said in a short national address, even as…

Divided EU leaders hold emergency talks on migration

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked EU leaders on Sunday to stop asylum seekers moving freely around the bloc during emergency talks on migration, an issue that is threatening her ruling coalition. Heads of government meeting in Brussels are trying to bridge their deep divisions over migration, which has been undermining the European Union for years and is now putting a strain on Merkel’s coalition. “One large part of today’s discussions will be protecting the outside borders and how we reduce illegal migration to Europe,” Merkel said on arriving for the…

Libya vows to close border with Tunisia over “harassment” against travelers

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Libya’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmad Metig, on Saturday threatened to close the land border with Tunisia, if the “harassment” of Libyan travelers on the Tunisian side continues. According to a statement issued by the prime minister’s media and communication office, Metig had instructed the Foreign Ministry to take measures to “ensure the safety of the Libyan citizens in Tunisia.” He also instructed the Ministry of Interior to “close the border if the Tunisian government does not take firm measures against those who seek to break the relationship between the two…