Month: July 2019

Scatec Solar offers unbeatable bid for Tataouine’s solar project

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The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Renewable Energy has received proposals for the implementation of five solar projects in the country. The most attractive proposal comes from the Norwegian company Scatec Solar, according to the ministry, Afrik21reports in its website. At least five solar power plants will be built in Tunisia, says the Tunisian Ministry of Energy, Mines and Renewable Energies, which recently made public some proposals from independent power producers (IPPs). A 200 MW photovoltaic solar power plant will be built in Tataouine in the south-east Tunisia, another 100…

Tunisia’s early presidential election to be held on September 15

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The early presidential election will take place on September 15, 2019, and nominations for the presidential election will be open from August 2 to 9, President of the Independent High Authority for Election (ISIE), Nabil Baffoun told reporters on Tuesday evening. Baffoun noted that the list of selected candidates will be announced no later than Wednesday, August 14. ISIE will have to announce the final list of selected candidates by August 31, 2019, as he met the press in the ISIE premises. The presidential election campaign is due to start…

Hend Sabry to Become First Arab Woman to Judge at Venice Film Festival

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Tunisian actress Hend Sabry will join the jury panel of the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film at the 76th Venice Film Festival, which is due to take place in Rome from August 28 to September 7. This makes the award-winning actress the first female Arab filmmaker fill this post at the Venice Film Festival, the world’s oldest film festival. “I am proud to be one of the jury members of Venice Film Festival and I also feel proud that veteran directors Emir Kusurica and Antoinette Liowill be…

Kaoun startup boosts financial inclusion by helping Tunisians create free bank accounts

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Tunisian startup Kaoun is aiming to increase financial inclusion in Tunisia via its first product, a mobile and web app that allows users to create free bank accounts remotely. Formed in January 2018 when co-founders Nebras Jemel, Anis Kallel, and Rostom Bouazizi put their studies in the United States – at Harvard University, University of Rochester, and Columbia University respectively – on hold to come back to Tunisia and build a fin-tech startup, Kaoun is building a pipeline for financial inclusion, Disrupt Africa reports. The company’s first product is Flouci, an application that…

Tunisia, China to bolster relations as part of BRI

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Tunisia is seeking to bolster collaboration with China as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).  The issue was at the centre of a meeting between Premier Youssef Chahed and head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Song Tao. Both sides are also likely to engage in further discussions aimed at encouraging a comprehensive Sino-Tunisia growth of relations. Chahed also highlighted the significance of cooperation between the two countries, voicing anticipation for a stronger presence in BRI. Tunisia attaches great…

Registration of presidential candidates to open on August 2

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Registration for candidates bidding for the presidency will start on August 2, an Independent High Authority for the Election (ISIE) official said Sunday, as Tunisia is striving to go through democratic transition after the death of President Beji Caid Essebsi on July 25.  Essebsi, Tunisia’s first democratically elected president, died on Thursday aged 92, nearly five years after he joined the Presidency in the Carthage Palace.  Shortly after his death, parliamentary speaker Mohamed Ennaceur was sworn in as interim president for a maximum period of 90 days, during which a…

Beji Caid Essebsi, first Tunisian president elected democratically passes away

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Beji Caid Essebsi played a key role in shaping Tunisia’s future after the 2010-2011 revolution President Beji Caid Essebsi, Tunisia’s first freely and democratically elected president in a post-revolution era, died Thursday. He had been leading the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings in the Arab world. Late Beji Caid Essebsi, who was 92, bridged two eras in Tunisian history, serving first as a senior officer in the autocratic regimes of the 1950s and playing a major role in shaping Tunisia’s future after the 2010-2011 revolution and…

“Hajtibik” project for encouraging Tunisians in Italy to invest in Tunisia

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An information session was held Tuesday in Zarzis by representatives of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to present the project “Hajtibik ija na3mlou Affare” (I need you, come and do business), launched a year ago and funded by the Italian development cooperation agency. This three-year project is meant for the governorates of Médenine, Tataouine, Jendouba and El Kef. It aims to encourage Tunisians residing in Italy to invest and establish partnerships in these regions. This project, with a total cost of 2.9 million euros (9.3 million dinars), also aims…

Tunisian pilgrims start their journey to holy places

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The Tunisian pilgrims started Tuesday evening their journey to the holy shrines. The first contingent of pilgrims includes 220 pilgrims accompanied by a medical team and a number of religious companions and guides, according to the airport flight director, who reported that flights from the airport reserved for pilgrims will continue in the coming days at the rate of one or two flights per day, the last flight to Jeddah airport, Saudi Arabia, is scheduled for August 4. Director-General of Passports, Chairman of the Honorary Committee of the “Route of…

WFP enhances National School Feeding Programme in Tunisia

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The World Food Programme (WFP) provides capacity-strengthening activities aimed at enhancing the Government-run National School Feeding Programme (NSFP) that reaches 260,000 children (125,000 girls and 135,000 boys) in 2,500 primary schools, reads a report of the WFP. The budget for national school feeding doubled in 2019, reaching USD 16 million per year. USD 1.7 million were allocated by the Tunisian Government for the construction and equipment of a pilot central kitchen and development of a School Food Bank, the report said. Last June, the WFP’s five cooperating partners carried out…