The Member States of the European Union have agreed to allocate 307.6 million euros, or about 1 billion Tunisian dinars, to finance the Elmed electricity interconnection project between Tunisia and Italy.
We have been talking about this project since 2015 and we can only welcome the outcome of the negotiations with the various partners for the mobilization of its funding.
Elmed will contribute to the establishment of a Mediterranean electricity market within the framework of a win-win partnership between the north and the south of the Mare Nostrum. The current energy crisis in the world seems to have accelerated the mobilization of its financing, and so much the better. It is now necessary to accelerate the steps necessary for its start.
This project was at the center of the meeting with the head of government Najla Bouden, Thursday, December 8, 2022, at the Government Palace in the Kasbah, with the new Italian ambassador, Fabrizio Saggio, who came to inform him of the evolution of the project at Italian and European level.
The meeting was an occasion during which Mrs. Bouden praised the close relations uniting the two countries on more than one level, Italy being the first foreign investor in our country in the field of energy, the first partner trade since 2021, and the second partner for foreign direct investment.
Regarding irregular migration, Mrs. Bouden called for a global and renewed approach to deal with this phenomenon, stressing that solidarity development with the countries of the southern Mediterranean is one of the solutions to reduce this scourge.
For his part, the Italian diplomat expressed his country’s desire to further strengthen bilateral cooperation relations and bring them to the highest levels, particularly in renewable energies.
