Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui said he hopes to see more Japanese investment in Tunisia at an interview with NHK as part of his participation in the Tokyo International Conference on African Development that ended Friday after three days of discussions between Japan and African leaders.
Jhinaoui said, “What makes Japan special because you focus on quality, innovation. If you see the three themes which are the agenda of TICAD7, people, innovation, resilience. So you are on the right path.”*
He added Tunisia is hoping for Japan to become more active in innovation and high-quality products.
Tunisia is regarded as the only success to come out of the “Arab Spring” movement, Jhinaoui said and that democracy is taking root in the country.
But he added economic problems — unemployment among young people in particular — have not been solved, and there are risks that radical groups could recruit frustrated young people.
Jhinaoui said, “There is a lot of work to be done, to create more jobs, to introduce more dynamism in our economic growth, and to make Tunisia more business-friendly in order to attract foreign investment.”
He added that the government is pushing educational reform and has adopted laws to make it easier for foreign companies to invest in Tunisia.
The final declaration of the conference focused on harnessing the power of private sector investments to boost economic and social growth in Africa.
TunisianMonitorOnline
