Tunisia 'back on investment map': Minister

By Mehrez bin Mohamed

TUNIS (AA) – Tunisia has signed a host of important investment agreements that will serve to bolster its ailing economy, according to Investment and Development Minister Fadel Abdul-Kafi.

The minister made the announcement in a speech he gave on the final day of a seminal two-day investment conference that wrapped up in Tunis on Wednesday evening.

"The last two days have put Tunisia back on the international investment map," Abdul-Kafi said.

During the two-day event, he said, which was attended by 45 delegations from 70 countries, Tunisia had "signed numerous agreements for loans, investment projects and donations from several international and Arab financial institutions".

"Tunisia remains an attractive area for investment," the minister added.

According to Tunisian officials, the government signed agreements for 145 investment projects -- worth a total of $33 billion -- in the public and private sectors.

Tunisia was the birthplace of the "Arab Spring" uprisings, which swept through the Middle East and North Africa in 2011 forcing several autocratic leaders from power, including Tunisia’s Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

In the half-decade since Tunisia’s uprising, the country has seen sharp declines in economic growth rates, while foreign direct investment has dropped off sharply.