Tunisian Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines, Neila Gongi, announced from Gafsa that Tunisia and Algeria have agreed to create a common investment fund.
The objective of the said fund is to strengthen and develop partnership projects for the benefit of young people in the Tunisian-Algerian border regions, so as to give a qualitative leap in terms of cooperation and investment between the two countries.
Speaking at the opening of a conference organized on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, on the theme “Investing in Gafsa”, Gongi specified that the geographical position of the governorate of Gafsa on the Tunisian-Algerian borders is one of the factors of investment attraction, especially since it allows its openness to its national and foreign environment.
The Gafsa region is the only governorate that does not have an official border post with Algeria, despite the decision taken since 2015 to build a border post in the “Oklat Hamad” border region.
This project was not carried out, despite the realization of the technical studies relating to this project by the Directorate of Equipment in Gafsa, she specified.
The governorate of Gafsa organized this conference in order to present the opportunities offered in the region to investors and businessmen, as well as to donors so that they can learn about this project.
615 million dinars of investment in the region
It also involves examining the means of boosting private initiative, improving the investment climate and reviewing the difficulties faced by project promoters.
2023/2025 Development Plan aims to make investments worth 615 million dinars (MDT) by the private sector, with a view to boosting the job market and improving development indicators in this region, including unemployment rate reached 26.3%, against 16.1% nationally, according to the National Institute of Statistics.
The attractions of Gafsa
The Minister of Industry emphasized the attributes of attracting private investment to Gafsa, particularly in promising sectors, believing that there is a lack of will to boost private initiative.
And to continue that the development difficulties suffered by several interior regions, including that of Gafsa, can be overcome by drawing comparative advantages from these regions, by valuing the wealth and useful substances not exploited.
The President of the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), Samir Majoul, for his part, underlined the importance of this “Investing in Gafsa” event, which makes it possible to examine the difficulties that hinder the promotion of private investment and to identify plausible solutions to overcome them.
These difficulties are linked to the weakness of financial resources, the reluctance of banks to finance new private initiatives, he added, stressing the role of the private sector in promoting the regional and national economy.
