Angela Merkel set to visit Egypt and Tunisia

German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert announced today at a press conference in Berlin that German chancellor Angela Merkel is set to arrive in Egypt on 2 March for her official visit to the country, where she will meet with Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. The German chancellor is also expected to meet with Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb, and Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II, before heading to Tunisia on Friday, 3 March to meet the Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebssi and Prime Minister Youssef Chahed who…

Tunisia to ban supermarket plastic bags starting in March

Non-biodegradable plastic bags will be banned from Tunisia’s large-chain supermarkets beginning March 1, following on a similar decision in Morocco, said Tunisian Environmental Minister Riadh Mouakher, after reaching an agreement with representatives of large shopping centres. About a billion plastic bags are used each year in Tunisia, and supermarkets alone distribute 315 million of them, generating 10,000 tonnes of waste that take over 400 years to decompose. A law will be enacted by the end of 2017 banning the production, importation and distribution of disposable plastic bags, and their use…

Tunisia becomes second largest organic exporter in Africa

The CEPEX recently published a detailed sector note on the overall situation of exports of the agricultural sector and the agri-food industry for the year 2016. According to the note, Tunisia became the second largest African exporter of biological products and that 80% of these organic products are exported. These organic products are essentially dates, vegetables, olive oils, vines and others. Tunisia exports more than 60 organic products to 5 continents. The note specifies that these exports of organic products had reached more than 35 thousand tons at the end…

Tunisia ranked 123rd in Index of Economic Freedom 2017

Tunisia has been ranked 123rd among the 180 countries listed in the Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom 2017. With a score of 55.7 points out of 100 in 2017, Tunisia maintains its status of country “moderately not free” in the index. It came ninth in the Arab world behind UAE (76.9 points), Qatar (73.1), Bahrain (68.5), Jordan (66.7), Kuwait (65.1), Saudi Arabia (64.4), Oman (62.1) and Morocco (61.5). Based on a set of ten indicators grouped into four categories, Tunisia’s index of economic freedom is based on the rule…

Union Minister M.J. Akbar to visit Tunisia from Feb.26 to 28

New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS) To explore business opportunities for India, Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar will be on a three-day visit to Tunisia, an official said on Thursday. “During the visit, the Minister of State shall discuss a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues of shared common interest including the strengthening of cooperation in the fertiliser sector. India has very cordial bilateral relations with Tunisia,” said a Ministry of External Affairs release. “The economic cooperation between the two countries is deepening with Indian investments…

North Africa, Europe’s Last Resort on Migration

To address the Mediterranean migrant crisis, the EU is seeking closer partnerships with North African states. Since the controversial deal between Turkey and the European Union (EU) in March 2016 has largely succeeded in preventing refugees from reaching Europe through the eastern Mediterranean route, EU decisionmakers have turned their attention to the central Mediterranean. With election dates approaching for several EU states, and amid heightened fears about new waves of migrants entering Europe in the spring, politicians are trying to find quick solutions to prove their ability to manage the…