Presentation of the economy and investment climate in Tunisia

“Our relations with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tunisia date back to 1996,” said the President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov at the opening of a forum - presentation of the economy and the investment climate in Tunisia. “We consider Tunisia a promising economic partner of Bulgaria and are evaluating the need of looking for new opportunities for cooperation beyond the traditional sectors of interaction,” he added. The event was prepared and organized in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Tunisia in Belgrade, responsible for Bulgaria. It was attended by Bulgarian companies with interests in the North African country. Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, regional chambers of commerce and industry, and branch organizations also took part in the event.

H.E. Mr. Seyf Allah Rejeb, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Tunisia, welcomed the participants saying that he appreciated the interest of the Bulgarian business towards Tunisia. He stressed that the country has adopted many changes and has made an economic transition with reforms in the field of investment, tax system, innovation, etc.

Issues related to the more favourable development of bilateral economic relations between Bulgaria and Tunisia will be discussed at the next session of the Economic Commission, which is expected to take place later this year.

Mr. Noomen Lagouil, a representative of the Tunisian Foreign Investment Promotion Agency, presented the economic environment in the country in detail. 3500 foreign companies are currently operating in Tunisia, with 75% of them exporting their products. The country reports a 12% increase in investment per year.

The development of the commercial and economic relations between Tunisia and Bulgaria was presented by Olga Chugunska, an Analyst at BCCI. The bilateral trade reached record values in 2013. According to preliminary data for 2018, a 10% growth can be expected, meaning that bilateral trade will exceed USD 150 million. The main commodity groups that Bulgaria exports to Tunisia are petroleum oils and fuels, wheat, electric machines, batteries, plastics and glass products. Bulgaria imports copper and copper products, mineral and chemical fertilizers, dates, figs, other fresh fruits, salt, spices, and PCBs from Tunisia.

The participants in the event had numerous questions for the representatives of the Tunisian Embassy and the Tunisian Foreign Investment Promotion Agency.

Tsvetan Simeonov summarized the results of the meeting and declared BCCI’s willingness to deepen its cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tunisia in the field of commercial arbitration, as well as the Chamber’s readiness to encourage the interaction of companies from Bulgaria and Tunisia in sectors in which the two countries are economically complementary, such as machine-building, food, pharmaceutical and textile industries, aviation, etc.