Tunisia endorses UPU e-commerce project

The Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the Tunisian government have unveiled plans to establish a regional e-commerce hub for North Africa. Announcing the start of the project during a January meeting with UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein, Tunisia’s Minister for Communications Technology and Digital Economy Mohamed Anouar Maârouf said Tunisia had all the assets needed to establish the hub. “The project is part of a national strategy for the facilitation of administrative procedures for SMEs, especially those having export activities,” said Maârouf. In a statement issued on Wednesday (8 February),…

Germany’s Angela Merkel calls for faster deportations of rejected Tunisian asylum seekers

The chancellor said in her weekly video podcast that she would push the Tunisian prime minister to help speed up deportations. She referenced the case of the Tunisian terrorist Anis Amri. Angela Merkel called for the speedier expulsion of failed Tunisian refugees from Germany in her weekly video podcast on Saturday. She pledged to raise the issue with Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed in his visit to Berlin next week. The chancellor referred specifically to the case of Anis Amri, the Tunisian terrorist whose deportation was delayed by the slow…

SNJT next Congress to be held late April 2017

The next Congress of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) will be held by the end of April 2017. According to a press statement released Friday, after the periodic meeting of the executive board of the SNJT, the Congress will be held within its legal deadlines. It is worth reminding that all the members of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists are on duties within the office till now, with the required commitment and responsibility despite hard circumstances the country and the media landscape are going through. The SNJT…

Rainbow Horticulture Tunisia expands

People are building in Tunisia. Since last year, Kwekerij De Wieringermeer and the Grow Group have been cultivating bell and pointed peppers together with a Tunisian partner under the name Rainbow Horticulture Tunisia. The cultivation area will double to more than five hectares. Rainbow Horticulture Tunisia has been cultivating bell and pointed peppers in an area of 2.5 hectares in Tunisia since 2016. “The company was founded due to demand for a year-round production of bell and pointed peppers,” says John van Marrewijk from Kwekerij De Wieringermeer. The bell pepper…

Is Tunisia Rolling Back Freedom of Information?

The Tunisian government is facing accusations of rolling back access to information and media freedom, through its regulation of information and communication units in ministries, state agencies and other government institutions. Last month, Prime Minister Youssef Chahed issued circular n°4 of 15 January 2017 asking civil servants not to speak to the press and not to reveal official information unless they get the authorization of their hierarchy: The circular further bans civil servants from making statements that “breach professional secrecy and the preservation of the state’s high interests”, preventing “the disclosure of…