Year: 2018

Security robot, work of Tunisian talents

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In an interview with robotics doctor Anis Sahbani, CEO of “Enova Robotics” company and inventor of the security robot “Pearl guard”, we learned that this robot, invented in 2015, is a first in the world. This invention won in Tunisia the first prize in the national competition for inventions and was also awarded abroad at the International Trade Shows for Inventions organized notably in Cairo (2016), France, Geneva, Austria and Kuwait (in 2017). “Enova-Robotics” is a public limited company located in the “Soft-Tech” business incubator of the Sousse competitive cluster…

Drug shortages: why we run out of drugs

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It may be surprising that drug shortages are such a big problem in Tunisia nowadays. There are seemingly endless supplies of medications available to the public with just a short trip to the pharmacy. But this is not the case for some medications, especially those used for more rare diseases. Supply and demand play a key role in the shortages of certain medications. Prescription pain medications and cancer medications find themselves in this category of shortages. The central pharmacy of Tunisia, public hospitals and private clinics become a nightmare to…

The Netherlands and World Bank Renew Their Engagement Towards Tunisia as part of Compact with Africa

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A Memorandum of Understanding expressing the commitment of the Netherlands and the World Bank (WB) Group to support the Tunisian Government, within the framework of the G20 programme for the Compact With Africa, to undertake a coordinated programme of reforms to increase domestic and foreign investments in Tunisia, was signed on Monday by Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of the Netherlands Sigrid Kaag and Bank Group Tunisia Country Manager Tony Verheijen said the World Bank in a statement. The Compact with Africa (CwA), created in 2017, sets up…

AEE Tunisia Chapter organizes info session on CEM

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The Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Tunisia Chapter organized on Sunday in Tunis an info session on the Certified Energy Manager (CEM). The event gathered eminent experts in the energy fields, academics and students who came to enrich a fruitful debate on the importance of Certified Energy Manager in their professional career in addition to information about the way to join the CEM process and the guidelines of the certification in order to succeed in the CEM examination for the benefit of the energy engineer as an individual and for…

Chinese acupuncture cures patients in rural Tunisia

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Fatima Kehila, a retired Tunisian teacher who used to suffer from leg arthritis for years, felt very lucky that she has been cured after receiving free acupuncture treatment from a Chinese medical team. Living in Sidi Thabet, a rural town in the northern suburbs of Tunisian capital Tunis, Kehila received the treatment at home every week by the Chinese doctors on a medical assistance mission in Tunis. Every week, the team of five crosses a distance of around 30 km to provide free acupuncture therapy to local residents of this…

Libya rejects AU Free Movement Protocol

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Foreign Minister of Presidential Council, Mohammed Siyala, has refused to sign the protocol attached to the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AFCFTA) on the freedom of movement of people and the right of residence. The AFCFTA agreement was signed by 44 countries out of 50, but the Free Movement Protocol attached to it was only signed by 29 African countries. The agreement was signed at the 10th Extraordinary Summit of the African Union in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. The Media Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Siyala’s…

TunisianMonitorOnline

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Eagerly, we launched a new website in the English language. It is a willingness by our team to find a new way within a country known by the dominance of the French language in the media landscape during decades, in coexistence with native language. Actually, we are aware that the task is difficult in particular for those who began their press professional career in Arabic for a long time, but the challenge is greater than any other emotion. We are ready to achieve this dream with the necessary passion and…

Tunisia seeks to build “Silicon Valley” by 2020

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A new Tunisian act that paves the way for entrepreneurs to establish startups but fears of losing ambitious plans in bureaucratic paths arouse. A large fringe of Tunisian entrepreneurs and young people are waiting for parliament next week to approve the draft law on establishing start-up companies, on which the government is highly betting to make a boost in the investment sector to move growth forward. The law aims at laying motivating foundations for the establishment of start-up companies based on the principle of innovation and the adoption of modern…

Tunisia’s leader calls for electoral reform, acknowledges reasons for disappointment with government performance

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Caid Essebsi left the future of the government led by Prime Minister Youssef Chahed hanging as speculation about a reshuffle continues. Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi called for a revision of the country’s electoral law but refrained from suggesting an expected constitutional reform to shore up presidential powers. Caid Essebsi said a small team of experts would study the possibility of amending the elections law and report on its conclusions. Any change of the law would be applied to parliamentary and presidential elections in 2019, not the municipal vote scheduled…

IMF releases additional $257 million for Tunisia

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The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved payment of a $257 million tranche of Tunisia’s loan programme, the country’s central bank said. The IMF board approved the second review of the country’s economic performance under the financial aid package that was initially approved in May 2016. With the latest instalment the IMF has lent the country nearly $1 billion, even though the board acknowledged the government had failed to meet some of its economic benchmarks. The IMF said Tunisia’s “growth-friendly and socially-conscious reforms will help stabilize public debt,” while “continued…