Tunisia is actively strengthening its economic partnership with Nordic countries, focusing on the energy transition, sustainable economy, innovation, and vocational training.
The first Tunisian-Nordic Forum and the Tunisian-Swedish Economic Forum illustrate this dynamic aimed at diversifying investments and increasing trade, particularly in the renewable energy sector.
Exploring concrete collaborations
In this context, the Tunisian ambassador to Finland, Nabiha Hajji, conducted in late February 2026 a strategic visit to ABB Finland, a global leader in energy, heavy electrical equipment, and industrial automation.
This meeting, held with the company’s senior executives, allowed presenting its flagship innovations and exploring concrete collaborations with Tunisia.
The discussions targeted modernization of water resources management, agro-industrial development, and strengthening of national clean energy. This diplomatic initiative is part of diversifying Tunisian technological partnerships, promoting high value-added investments and accelerated energy transition.
ABB strengths and opportunities for Tunisia
Founded in 1988, ABB Finland excels in automation solutions for Industry 4.0, smart grids, and renewable energy storage systems. Its technologies optimize electricity consumption, reduce water losses via IoT sensors, and automate agri-food chains for enhanced traceability.
For Tunisia, these expertises address critical needs: smart irrigation against drought, efficient agro-industrial plants, and massive solar integration. The African company, projected globally, sees Tunisia as a promising North African hub thanks to its geostrategic stability and skilled workforce.
Priorities of bilateral cooperation
The exchanges yielded pilot projects in three interconnected areas. Water management will benefit from SCADA systems for real-time monitoring of dams and canals, saving up to 30% of water. The agro-industry adopted ABB robots for olive oil and dairy processing, boosting exports to the EU.
Clean energy will incorporate inverters and batteries for photovoltaic parks, aligned with the target of 35% renewables by 2030. A preliminary MoU opens the way to funded technical visits and pilots.
The parties authorize signing of a technical MoU in April; pilot SCADA deployment on two dams; training 100 Tunisian engineers in Finland; agro-industrial audit for 10 SMEs; development of ABB-Tunisia solar park; semi-annual KPI monitoring; expansion to other Finnish firms. These steps catalyze 500 million euros of investments by 2028.
