Month: February 2019

Hotels in Djerba are already full for spring

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Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts René Trabelsi said last Friday that several hotels in Djerba island are already full according to the bookings made until next April. He pointed out that the number of tourists, particularly European tourists, had increased significantly. The minister, who was speaking at Mosaïque Fm on the sidelines of a visit to Houmet Essouk on the island of Djerba, said that his department was currently studying the issue of hotel units that had been closed for several years due to a lack of tourists. He added…

Libyan security frees 14 kidnapped Tunisian workers

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Security forces in Libya on Sunday freed 14 Tunisian workers kidnapped by gunmen in the western city of Zawiya, some 45 km west of the capital Tripoli, according to Libyan officials. “The security directorate of the city of Zawiya managed to free the Tunisian workers. Communication is underway with the concerned authorities to ensure they return safely to their families,” said the Zawiya security directorate. The workers are in good health, according to the security directorate, Xinhuanet reports. The Tunisian Foreign Ministry also confirmed the release of the kidnapped workers and…

French-Tunisian University for Africa and Mediterranean to start activity in September 2019

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The activities of the French-Tunisian University for Africa and the Mediterranean (French; UFTAM)  will be launched in September 2019. This initiative was discussed as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Slim Khalbous met his French counterpart, Frédérique Vidal, a joint statement reports. At the closing session of the Joint Steering Committee meeting of the French-Tunisian University project, held on Thursday in Paris, the two ministers stressed that the project illustrates the three concepts of excellence, renovation and openness to the world. The representatives of the French and Tunisian institutions…

2.5% growth of Tunisian economy in 2018, 1.9 % in 2017

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The Tunisian economy grew 2.5 % in 2018 compared with 1.9%  in the previous year, the state statistics institute reveals. The GDP growth was driven by a 2.2-percent expansion in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the state institute. Tunisia is aiming to raise GDP growth to 3.1 % in 2019. The budget deficit is expected to fall to 3.9% of gross domestic product in 2019, from about 5% in 2018, according to the state’s forecast. TunisianMonitorOnline

More European airlines are returning to Tunisia

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More European airlines are returning to Tunisia, the Far Out Magazine website reports . Many of Europe’s largest airlines are running commercial flights to Tunisia once again as governments being to relax their travelling advice on visiting the country, the same source said. Now though, Thomas Cook has resumed flights to Tunisia and in excess of 220 holidaymakers flew to Enfidha airport from Birmingham on Tuesday. The same flight headed to the city from Manchester in the same day as an all-inclusive seven-night trip. Planning for a busy summer of…

“Dream in Tunisia”: 1,800 trees planted in Rjim Maatoug delegation

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(TAP) – At the initiative of the association “Dream in Tunisia” and in collaboration with civil society, some 1,800 trees were planted on Saturday in Rjim Maatoug, in the desert of Tunisia located 120 km from the city centre of the governorate of Kebili. The initiative provides for the creation of a green barrier that includesd 1,800 acacias, eucalyptus, cypress around the maternity ward and the school of Rjim Maatoug and the dispensaries of Matrouha and Ferdaous. The project of “Dream in Tunisia” aims to create a forest within the…

Training session for teachers on reducing food waste organized (FAO)

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The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) is organising a training session on 28 February 2019 for 60 school and high school teachers on good practices to reduce food waste (bread and dairy products), the UN agency reports in a statement issued on Friday. The FAO exerts efforts in the Middle East and North Africa region for Reducing Food Waste and Waste and Developing Value Chains for Food Security in Egypt and Tunisia. This initiative is funded by the Italian International Development Agency and implemented in collaboration…

UN, EU Bank Approve More Support for Tunisia’s Olive Sector

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Support for Tunisia’s olive sector by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is set to continue with the approval of the third stage of this multi-year project, Olive Oil Times reports. The FAO and EBRD have been providing a much-needed boost to Tunisia’s olive oil sector  for the past five years with the aim to enhance its quality, efficiency and competitiveness. The next stage of the project is due to begin during the first quarter of 2019 and…

Organic olive groves: Tunisia ranks 1st

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Tunisia ranks first in the world in terms of the area devoted to organic olive groves, out of a list of 30 organic olive-growing countries, according to the report “The World of Organic Agriculture: Statistics & Emerging Trends 2019”, published on February 13, 2019 by the Swiss Organic Agriculture Research Institute and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). The areas devoted to organic olive groves in Tunisia amount to 255 thousand hectares (ha), compared to 235 thousand ha in Italy, which ranks second, and 195 thousand ha in…

Tunisian students in France exempt from tuition fees increase

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French Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, announced on Thursday, during his meeting with Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, that Tunisian students will be totally exempt from this measure. The French government decided in November 2018 to multiply by 16 the tuition fees of non-European students on their soil. This is positive discrimination against Tunisia and was announced by Edouard Philippe during the visit of PM Youssef Chahed, to France from Frebruary 13 to 15, 2019. The 12,000 Tunisian students in France will be exempted from this measure, which had created a strong…