Companies specializing in aeronautical and space equipments, are present in Tunisia since a few decades. Their cartel “the Gitas”, the Tunisian aircraft and spacecraft industries group includes twenty companies, mostly French, but also some other 100% Tunisians. The members of the cartel, were among the happiest to learn about hear the news of the creation of a dedicated park and the forthcoming settlement of Airbus at El Mghira, south of Tunis.
Other french manufacturers were also delighted to find in Tunisia a production site for international aerospace components. Tunisia could be in years to come, one of the first low-cost sites for aircraft manufacturers. French manufacturers have continued for some time to be interested in Tunisia site and meet with their Gitas counterparts, as was the case on Wednesday, May 27 .
The laudable efforts of the Tunisian-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CTFCI), are evident in this context. This chamber that hosts the Gitas managed to organize the visits of delegations of heads of French companies in the sector. The Delegation of Aquitaine and Midi Pyrenees has just started a visit to Tunisia, a visit which will last until May 30. It includes fifteen companies. The goal is to meet with local manufacturers, in short to do business!
The French business managers in the space and aeronautic sector from the region of Toulouse and Bordeaux, took part on Wednesday in a meeting organised by the Tunisian Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA).
The meeting which aimed at highlighting partnership and subcontracting business perspectives in the sector, was also the occasion of promoting the country’s attractiveness as an investment site.
Mongia Khemiri, FIPA’s Director General said that Tunisia has all it takes to become regional business hub for companies operating in the space and aeronautic sector. She stressed that 20 foreign companies are currently operating in the sector, including major names such as Latecoere, Zodiac and Sogema.
On his part, the representative of “Ernst& Young Tunisia”, Mr Sami Zaoui said that Tunisia is tabling to double its volume of exports from 8,3 billion Euros to 16,6 billion Euros by 2016. He also said that a recent study by the consulting firm has shown that Tunisia stands out as one of the top exporters in the sector of mechanic and electronic industry in the Southern Mediterranean region. He also stressed the importance of a “win-win” partnership as “the best solution to move out of the world economic crisis”.
The French delegation is due to visit three aeronautic sites in Tunisia including the site under construction by Aerolia (an airbus subsidiary firm). It has also scheduled some 130 meetings with representatives from the Tunisian industrial network.
