Tunisia, the prominent North African investment hub and gateway to three strategic global markets with current talks for an FTA with USA, has opened its renowned investment forum to Sri Lanka for the first time. โI am privileged to invite Sri Lanka to our next Carthage Investment Forum session to be held in June in Tunisia. This Forum is a leading investment meeting of the Maghreb regionโ said an excited (HE) Tarek Azouz (Ambassador of Tunisia to Sri Lanka and Maldives) on 05 February in Colombo.
(HE) Azouz was addressing Rishad Bathiudeen (Minister of Industry & Commerce) during his courtesy call on Minister Bathiudeen at EDB premises in Colombo on 05 February. Also present at the session were officials of the Department of Commerce and Mukthar Marikkar, Honorary Consul General of Consulate of the Republic of Tunisia in Colombo.
โDue to our proximity and Free Trade with the EU, we have many top companies from EU setting up manufacturing with us-for example, the United Colors of Benettonโs biggest plant is in Tunisia as well as 16 Airbus plants. One of the best ways to improve bilateral trade links is to form joint ventures with each other. Therefore, as a first step, I am privileged to invite Sri Lanka to our next Carthage Investment Forum session to be held in June in Tunisia. This Forum is a leading investment meeting of the Maghreb region. Sri Lanka will have many opportunities at this session, most importantly meeting other potential investors to Sri Lanka from Tunisia, the Maghreb region and the African Economic Community. We believe that South Asian has strong potential for our export products. We export around $ 400 Mn of olive oil and I believe that the Tunisian olive oil manufacturers can enter South Asia by setting up their shipment facilities in Sri Lanka. This can also help our olive oil shipments to China and Japanese marketsโ said (HE) Azouz.
Responding to (HE) Azouz, Minister Bathiudeen said: โI thank the Government of Tunisia for the first ever invitation to next Carthage Investment Forum session. Iย shall liaise with various Chambers, the EDB and the Department of Commerce of Sri Lanka to send a strongย delegation from Sri Lanka for this Forum. We also warmly welcome Tunisian investors to Sri Lanka and our government led by HE the President Mahinda Rajapaksa is ready to extend its fullest support to promising Tunisian investors in this regard. More than 8500 product lines are open without tariff to India and Pakistan markets as a result of our FTAs with them. These two markets alone are above one billion in their capacity and Tunisian investors have a ready gateway to them from Sri Lanka. I also invite regular business and investment delegations from Tunisia to Sri Lanka so that B2B level links are formed. I believe that $0.56 Mn current bilateral trade between both countries are very low and it also shows that Tunisia is a virgin market for Sri Lankaโs exports.โ
Tunisia, the prominent North African investment hub and gateway to three strategic global markets -the EU, the Maghreb region and the African Economic Community- has a small quantum of trade with Sri Lanka – $ 0.56 Mn in 2012 and as a result, is a promising virgin market for Sri Lanka exports. Sri Lankaโs main exports in 2012 were tea, tyres and gloves. In 1995, Tunisia became the first Mediterranean country to sign an Association Agreement with the EU. As a result of the agreement, a Free Trade Area (FTA) between EU and Tunisia came into being in 2008 for industrial products, which in turn, includes apparels.
Both Minister Bathiudeen and (HE) Azouz also discussed other potential aspects of trade and investment cooperation between both countries.
Leader of All Ceylon Makkal Congress