The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said Thursday in Geneva that Tunisia has several strengths enabling it to benefit from the ongoing transformations in global value chains.
Among these strengths, she cited in particular the quality of Tunisia’s human resources, which she described as educated and skilled, as well as the country’s geographic proximity to Europe.
Human and Geographic Assets
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala spoke during a press conference held on the sidelines of the WTO Public Forum, which is taking place in Geneva from September 15 to 17.
According to her, the human capacities available in Tunisia constitute one of the main levers capable of allowing the country to benefit from the new opportunities created by the gradual reorganization of value chains at the international level.
She also highlighted the importance of Tunisia’s geographic position, located close to Europe and at the crossroads of exchanges between European and African markets.
Opportunities Between Europe and Africa
The WTO Director-General considers that these characteristics place Tunisia in a favorable position to capture a portion of the economic and commercial opportunities linked to exchanges between Europe and Africa.
This dynamic comes as several companies and economies seek to reorganize or diversify their value chains, while regional countries themselves strive to reinforce their attractiveness in this new context.
Turning Advantages into Concrete Opportunities
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated that Tunisia “has all the advantages” needed to seize this opportunity.
She nevertheless stressed the need to put in place the conditions allowing these assets to be transformed into concrete economic and commercial opportunities.
The challenge, in her view, is to enable Tunisia to fully benefit from the ongoing mutations in the value chains linking Europe and Africa.
Source: TAP
