South Africa’s Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Ms Nomalungelo Gina and the Tunisian Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Sabri Bachtoji have committed to strengthen bilateral economic relations between both countries in order to increase trade and investment.

At the meeting which took place in Pretoria, the two nations emphasized the need to establish a framework and create a conducive environment for the business communities from the two countries to interact and work together.

They both indicated that the South African and Tunisian economies, despite the distance apart, are teeming with opportunities that business men and women can successfully explore with government support.

“Our countries have enjoyed historically strong political ties but it is incumbent upon us to strengthen our economic ties and increase economic cooperation between our countries. As government, we need to work together in setting up a framework and creating an environment that will encourage our business communities to explore the economic opportunities that are available in both countries. There is quite a number of sectors in the Tunisian economy that teem with opportunities that the South African companies can take advantage of through trade, partnerships, investment and join-ventures,” said Bachtoji.

He identified tourism, agriculture, services and Information and Communication Technology as some of the sectors that present unlimited opportunities for the private sector from South Africa and Tunisia to explore together.

Deputy Minister Gina said it was necessary to increase the two-way trade and investment between South Africa and Tunisia in order to create jobs and also grow the two economies.

“It is important that we hold these discussions and engage as government on various initiatives that can enable us to enhance our economic relations and result in more two-way flows of trade and investment between South Africa and Tunisia. South Africa also presents a myriad of opportunities for Tunisian companies in a variety of sectors. One of the areas of possible cooperation is the ocean economy which presents unlimited opportunities for investment,” said Gina.

Trade between South Africa and Tunisia, which amounted to about R462 million in 2018, has been characterized by a mixture of periods of growth and decline over the last five years.

Culled from Africa Business Communities