UTICA called on the authorities of the two countries to establish “the principles of freedom of movement, residence, work, property, for Algerians in Tunisia and Tunisians in Algeria”.
The Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA) called, on Saturday in a press release, for an agreement of “free trade and free movement” between Algeria and Tunisia.
Intervening the day after the reopening, since Friday, July 15, of the Algerian-Tunisian land borders after two years of closure due to the health crisis, the Tunisian bosses want to consolidate this decision taken, on July 5, by Presidents Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Kais Saied.
UTICA called on the authorities of the two countries to establish “the principles of freedom of movement, residence, work, property, for Algerians in Tunisia and Tunisians in Algeria”.
UTICA called, according to the same press release, “to encourage joint investment and to establish freedom of investment in economic sectors, but also to facilitate access to financing by financial institutions”.
In this sense, the Tunisian employers’ organization has called for “the cancellation of customs, non-customs and border barriers”, for “the development of a comprehensive free trade agreement between the two countries exempt from all taxes on products of the two countries” and to “the complete liberalization of the currencies of the two countries in economic transactions and in tourism, and this, after an agreement of the official institutions concerned on a single exchange rate”.
According to the same source, “it is also a question of boosting cooperation in all value-added sectors, including the renewable energy sector and communication technologies, in addition to granting more interest to tourism and the services provided citizens of both countries.
Tunisian employers also mentioned the importance of “the development of border regions and the establishment of free trade zones in these regions, in particular through the creation of advanced industrial zones in these border regions to attract direct innovative projects and common”.
Last April, Presidents Kaïs Saïed and Abdelmadjid Tebboune reaffirmed their desire to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. They reaffirmed that Algeria and Tunisia “share the same history and the same desire to build a solid future based on the same constants and common principles”.
On December 15, 2021, Algeria and Tunisia signed 27 cooperation agreements covering several areas, including justice, security, communication, and media, industry, environment, culture, health, youth and sports.
