The Minister of Economy and Planning, Samir Abdelhafidh, chaired, on 8 and 10 April of the current year, a series of meetings that brought together the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), the Confederation of Citizen Enterprises of Tunisia (CONECT), as well as a number of members of the Council of Mixed Chambers, in the presence of several senior officials from the ministry, the Director-General of the Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Investment, and the official responsible for managing the Tunisian Investment Authority.
In this framework, Samir Abdelhafidh stressed the importance of these meetings, in that they offer an opportunity for constructive dialogue and consultation, in realization of the state’s action to ensure complementarity between the public and private sectors. He highlighted the vital role of private investment, domestic and foreign, which he described as an essential engine of growth, an active lever of economic and social development, as well as a creator of new job opportunities.
The minister added that the organization of these meetings aims to listen to the concerns of economic actors and investors, as well as their proposals regarding the reforms necessary to inject more dynamism into economic activity, considered one of the major priorities of the government’s action, in order to reinforce trust between the two sides, to strengthen Tunisia’s attractiveness and to improve its competitiveness as well as its resilience, notably in a context marked by evolving conjunctures and fluctuations at the international level.
These meetings also allowed participants to present a series of visions and proposals aimed at further improving the investment climate and its ecosystem, notably through reform of the legislative and regulatory framework, the stability of the texts in force, as well as the improvement of the performances of the concerned public structures. They stressed the importance of simplifying administrative procedures, broadening digitization, facilitating access to financing, reducing tax pressure and easing exchange procedures in favor of enterprises and promoters.
In the same context, discussions also addressed the need to give due attention to the development of logistical services, to adopt mechanisms likely to accelerate the resolution of land-related issues, and to set in place the necessary modern infrastructures, alongside the development of production systems in a manner that strengthens development in the regions.
At the end of the meetings, the participants expressed their satisfaction with holding such meetings, as well as their willingness and availability to intensify efforts in order to contribute more effectively to the revival of investment, within a framework of mutual trust and in accordance with the requirements of national interest in favor of a new momentum for economic and social development.
