The Tunisian government has set a good precedent for developing countries in Africa by meeting its Millennium Development Goal for education well in advance of the deadline. This was said by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Elizabeth Thabthe at the South Africa-Tunisia Business Forum held in Tunisia today.
The forum was attended by more than hundred business people from Tunisia and South Africa.
“Tunisia is one of the countries with a highly skilled workforce and advanced Information and Communication Technology (ICT). I commend the country for having invested heavily in its people as its human resource,” said Thabethe.
She also lauded South African and Tunisian governments for their commitment to strengthening their bilateral economic relations by negotiating and agreeing to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Economic Cooperation.
“We should also fast track the implementation process of this MoU as it is a very important framework which we will use as the basis for regular economic engagement between South Africa and Tunisia. The MoU will provide for the establishment of the Joint Trade and Investment Committee (JTIC),” added Thabethe.
She further said the JTIC would help the two governments to identify trade and investment opportunities as well as address any trade impediments that would encourage the business communities to take advantage of these initiatives.
The Tunisian Minister of Trade and Handicrafts, Mr Abdelwaheb Maater said Tunisia was on the process of instituting a new era for future projects in the country.
“The Tunisian government wants to diversify their trade and investment patterns into developing countries in Southern Africa and Africa as a whole. Our presence here in this business forum indicates a need to increase our efforts to reach our targets in trading with the African continent,” said Maater.
The Outward Trade and Investment mission will conclude later this week with site visits to some of Tunisia‘s business hubs.
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Sidwell Medupe, Departmental Spokesperson
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E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
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