Tunisia, a great opportunity for investment
Tunisia is one of the great investment options for Spanish companies and companies from many other countries dedicated to a wide range of productive sectors, thanks to its characteristics and location as a point of union between Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
This is the main message that emerged from the conference entitled 'Tunisia, a key destination to develop your business and grow your investments', held at the Palacio de Santoña in the capital of Madrid under the organisation of various entities such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madrid and the Tunisian investment agency FIPA.
The main kick-off panel of the day included the participation of Ángel Asensio Laguna, President of the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of Madrid, and Adel Mohsen Chaabane, President of the Spanish-Tunisian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CTECI), who acted as moderators of the main table, and Fatma Omrani, Tunisian Ambassador to Spain, Guillermo Ardizone, Spanish Ambassador to Tunisia, and Ibrahim Medini, Director of the FIPA-Tunisia investment agency in Madrid for Spain and Portugal.
Business internationalisation is key in these times of globalisation and this tool means more sales opportunities for companies. And here Tunisia is a great investment destination for companies from different countries, and, of course, from Madrid and Spain. This was one of the main arguments used by Ángel Asensio Laguna to highlight the great opportunity that the commitment of Spanish companies to the Tunisian market represents for Spain and Tunisia.
The President of the Madrid Chamber of Industry thanked all the participants at the table for their presence there and wanted to highlight the investment opportunities that exist in Tunisia. Ángel Asensio highlighted the great collaboration work developed by the Tunisian Embassy in Madrid and the Spanish Embassy in Tunisia together with FIPA and the Chamber of Industry of Madrid in order to offer interesting investment and business options.
He also announced the agreement signed this same day between FIPA and the Chamber of Madrid for economic collaboration between companies, together with the participation of the City Council and the Community of Madrid and partners such as Kuehne+Nagel.
The president of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce and Industry stressed that we are going through a difficult time due to the rise in raw material prices and container transport costs caused by problems such as the recent coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which have left "human misfortunes and economic consequences". In the face of this, the company acts as a "social shield" as it generates employment and provides wealth to overcome these complicated times.
To face this complicated scenario, internationalisation is key as it provides "more sales opportunities", as Ángel Asensio himself explained, who highlighted the great opportunity that Tunisia represents due to its importance from the point of view of production and sales and the "great human talent" of its population. The president of the Madrid Chamber also highlighted the upward trend of the North African country and its great position as a meeting point between the Middle East, Africa and Europe, which gives it an important degree of relevance as a business market. Within a country that has a great educational development in terms of population and that has a great macroeconomic growth.
Ángel Asensio highlighted tourism as a key sector in Tunisia, with a marked objective of reaching 7,000,000 million tourists, in addition to other important ones, and encouraged people to "take advantage of the great business climate and political stability" offered by the North African country.
In his speech, Mohsen Chaabane also thanked all those present on the panel and sent a clear message about the great development in his country of the public and private sectors, which allows for great business opportunities.
Afterwards, Ambassador Fatma Omrani intervened, who emphasised that despite the COVID health crisis, work and collaboration between Spain and Tunisia has not stopped. The Tunisian diplomatic representative also explained that her nation has carried out a process of democratisation since 2011 and is now immersed in another of rectification to rewrite the national political regime through a transparent procedure in which the citizens are being consulted. A population that yearns for a functioning rule of law and a democratic constitution. And the country is in the midst of this work as it fights corruption and seeks further development.
Against this backdrop, Tunisia offers the stability and characteristics of a serious country that can be relied upon for investment in Africa. Despite the democratic reconstruction process the country is undergoing, with the new draft constitution, the upcoming referendum and the forthcoming elections at the end of the year, work has not ceased between Tunisia and Spain, as the ambassador explained.
Fatma Omrani stressed that no Spanish company has left Tunisia in the last 11 years, which shows the confidence that exists in the country. She also stated that almost 4,000 foreign companies have decided to stay in the country, which shows that Tunisia is "one of the most developed countries in the southern Mediterranean". The country also has a strong presence thanks to its participation in economic events in Spain, such as the FITUR tourism fair and the Mobile World Congress.
For his part, Guillermo Ardizone pointed out that it is important for embassies to listen to economic actors to find out how they see the region, and he highlighted the efforts of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce and Industry to bring Spain closer to the Tunisian market, even during the pandemic. The Spanish ambassador stressed that Tunisia is a "strategic partner" and that Spain has been present whenever the North African country has needed it, as in the cases of medical assistance during the COVID health crisis or through credit lines such as the three million euro fund made available in 2020 for microcredits for small businesses. Ardizone indicated that the Spanish Embassy and its commercial office are very attentive and collaborate intensively with the Spanish-Tunisian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The diplomatic representative stated that Europe is the main investor in Tunisia and highlighted the existing credit line for the internationalisation of Spanish companies. He also wished to highlight the importance of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce and Industry in mobilising companies in Madrid and thus exploiting the existing links with the Tunisian country.
The last speaker was Ibrahim Medini, who explained that there are many possibilities for collaboration between the two countries and that there are proven success stories such as those of the companies Sanlúcar and Mapfre.
The Director of the FIPA-Tunisia agency in Madrid for Spain and Portugal explained that the mission of his organisation is to facilitate contact between companies and administrations and to promote partnership. Medini pointed out that companies need to be better informed of the options available for investment and that the objective is to facilitate investment and partnership in Tunisia.
For Ibrahim Medini, Tunisia is a key destination for business in various sectors such as services, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food, and energy. The FIPA director also had the opportunity to explain the different benefits that the African nation offers to foreign companies that decide to invest there, such as free access to land ownership, at the same level as for national companies, or the possibility of obtaining up to 30% of the total cost of the business project if a certain amount of investment is reached.
The director of FIPA also announced the next investment forum to be held in his country on 23 and 24 June, in which his entity is preparing everything so that anyone who wants to invest in Tunisia has all the facilities and information to be able to do so. Ibrahim Medini invited all those interested to register and participate in this event, which will celebrate its 20th edition this year 2022.
