Month: May 2020

Organic olive oil: Tunisian brand “Triomphe Thuccabor” wins International Prize Biolterritori

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“We have just received some excellent news from Italy and we must share with you, our Triomphe brand has been awarded the special prize BIOLTERRITORI (PRIZE FOR THE BEST OF CLASS TUNISIAN ORGANIC OLIVE OIL) the most prestigious and reliable prize for the world’s highest quality sustainable ORGANIC olive oils by a jury of 30 experts in the field”, said Maher Ben Ismail co-founder of Ben Ismail Domain. Maher Ben Ismail also states that Biolterritori is one of the most prestigious and reliable awards for organic olive oils, of high…

“Tounes Wijhetouna” : New EU programme to develop sustainable tourism

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“Tounes Wijhetouna”, a new European Union programme (Tunisia, Our Destination), aims to diversify and strengthen the quality of tourism offer in Tunisia, by creating beneficial partnerships between the country’s tourism sectors, handicrafts, design, area products and cultural heritage, said the EU delegation in Tunisia on its Facebook page. The EU delegation said the 51-million-euro programme – 45 million euros of which were directly allocated by Brussels – will last six years, and involve three major components: diversification and strengthening of tourism offerings, strengthening value chains in handicrafts and design, and…

WWF North Africa demands transition to green economy

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The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) North Africa in Tunisia has urged leaders to implement sustainable recovery plans to transition towards a ”greener, more sustainable” economy which is ”more equal and carbon neutral”. ”Our governors must resist the temptation of saving the unsustainable economy, a socially unjust and polluting economy that is heating our planet, exhausting natural resources and hindering the health and well-being of our people”, WWF said. The organisation stressed the need to move public and private investments from polluting options to sustainable ones. ”Our government must show leadership…

How Europe’s post-COVID-19 economy and environment can both prosper

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Amid the upheaval, there might be a silver lining – an opportunity for Europe to come closer to achieving global sustainability goals.Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, good news has been in short supply. The enormous social and economic consequences of the pandemic are becoming clearer by the day, and we’ll be feeling the effects on our lives and livelihoods for decades to come. Yet amid the immense human and economic toll, something else is also becoming clearer: our skies. Life without car or air travel has allowed nature…

EU-Maghreb Relations: Economy Should Take Centre Stage in Post-Pandemic Era

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One of the unavoidable consequences of the current pandemic will be the repatriation of part of the value chains of international European and North American companies home or closer to home. How important this turns out to be and what sectors it will impact most is yet not clear, but public opinion will no longer allow certain key necessities to be sourced essentially in China. As European leaders consider which products need to be manufactured closer to home, they could do worse than spare a thought for Algeria, Morocco and…

PROCONSULT Tunisia: The refinancing of banks would be close to 20 billion dinars

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The research and analysis unit of the PROCONSULT Tunisia consulting firm, which is composed of eminent experts, engineers and former ministers, has just published its April 2020 report on Tunisia’s prospects after COVID. The report takes stock of the situation in Tunisia in April 2020 and tries to anticipate possible developments. It is obvious that any prospecting effort in such circumstances consists of dealing with several interdependent factors that are not controllable but also unpredictable in terms of prospects and impact. Although a lack of solidarity in the international management…

Aid to 23 hospitals worth 300,000 dinars from the NGO Islamic Relief Tunisia

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The Islamic Relief Tunisia (IRT) organisation will start providing the second batch of aid to 11 Tunisian hospitals on Saturday, May 16 at a financial cost of over 131,000 dinars. The organization will provide a variety of medical equipment, the most important of which is an integrated analysis unit, advanced respirators, surgical suction pumps and other medical devices, which are listed in the table accompanying this release. In parallel with the State’s efforts to eradicate the coronavirus epidemic once and for all, the NGO has allocated these important medical devices…

COVID-19: Digital solidarity vouchers to needy Tunisians

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Tunisian NGO “Banque alimentaire durable” has launched a new initiative to assist needy families in Tunis as the containment decreed on 22 March to fight the spread of the coronavirus in Tunisia has affected thousands of households, which lost their source of income. The NGO selected 300 families living in the poor neighbourhoods of Tunis and sent them via cell phones an SMS code for vouchers to help them purchase commodities a week at nearby grocery stores. The NGO, which launched the initiative at the beginning of Ramadan, hopes to…

Fitch Downgrades Tunisia to ‘B’; Outlook Stable

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Fitch Ratings has downgraded Tunisia’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘B’ from ‘B+’. The Outlook is Stable, Fitch Ratings reported Tuesday. The downgrade reflects the aggravation in Tunisia’s persistent macroeconomic imbalances and deterioration in external and public debt trajectories due to economic disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic shock. Tunisia’s economy will witness its sharpest contraction on record in 2020 while the current account deficit (CAD) will fail to narrow amid a temporary halt in fiscal consolidation, prompting a further significant rise in net external debt (NXD) and general…

Coronavirus: US reversal scuppers UN vote on global pandemic ceasefire

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The United States has stunned other members of the UN Security Council by preventing a vote on a resolution for a ceasefire in various conflicts around the world to help troubled nations better fight the coronavirus pandemic, diplomats said. Washington’s reversal on Friday came a day after it agreed to the text, negotiators said under cover of anonymity, AFP reports “The United States cannot support the current draft,” the country’s delegation declared, without further detail, to the 14 other Security Council members, after nearly two months of difficult negotiation over…