Day: February 28, 2018

Tunisia, Spain vow cooperation on security, women’s rights

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Spain and Tunisia are reviving ties after a decade-long freeze, pledging notably to work together on security and women’s rights. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Tunisian counterpart Youssef Chahed signed eight accords Monday in Tunis. Rajoy announced a 25-million-euro ($30.8 million) credit line for small and medium businesses in Tunisia, and urged Spanish businesses to invest in Tunisia. Rajoy pledged cooperation in fighting organized crime and support for Tunisia’s democracy. Chahed stressed their joint determination to “fight the plagues of terrorism and extremism, in reinforcing coordination in the security…

Moody’s points to high level of problem loans in Tunisia

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Moody’s said in a new report published Wednesday that “the high level of problem loans in Tunisia will continue to weigh on the credit profiles of the country’s banks,” stressing that liquidity conditions will also be challenging. The rating agency’s report is an update to the markets and does not constitute a rating action. Moody’s estimated that the credit growth in Tunisia will remain elevated at around 8%-10%, fueled by recovering economic growth of 2.8% compared with 2.3% in 2017, “in a context of declining domestic savings.” Foreign investment in…

Minister: Algeria considers exporting electricity to Libya via Tunisia

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Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines Mustapha Guitouni said that his country is considering exporting electricity to Libya through Tunisia. “Algeria is in the process of preparing the necessary studies to examine the possibility of exporting electricity to Libya through the Tunisian territories,” Guitouni said in response to a question from Turkey’s Anadolu Agency. Libya suffers from power shortages caused by the destruction of a number of electricity plants, while Algeria is trying to boost its foreign exports to increase its balance of foreign currency. The minister added that the two…

“South-South cooperation will only strengthen weight of our continent in the world”, says Equatorial Guinea President

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President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo announced Tuesday during his visit in Tunis that his country will open its embassy in Tunisia soon. He also announced an entry visa exemption for Tunisian citizens. The president is on his first state visit to Tunis, during which eight bilateral cooperation agreements were signed. The Equatorial Guinean President commended his visit to Tunisia as “historic and successful,” underlinng such a “South-South cooperation will only strengthen the weight of our continent in the world.” He said during a joint press conference with…

Tunisia expects up to 600,000 tourists from Russia in 2018 — minister

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The Tunisian authorities are interested in increasing the tourist flow from Russia and expect that up to 600,000 Russians can visit the country by the end of this year, Tunisian Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts Salma Elloumi Rekik told TASS on Tuesday in the run-up to her working visit to Moscow. “We expect to receive from 550,000 to 600,000 Russian tourists in 2018, which is a 6-percent increase compared to last year,” she said. “We have all the resources that are necessary to achieve that goal.” According to the minister,…