Japan is looking to triple its investments in Tunisia and the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) in 2022 will be an opportunity to concretize this goal, especially in the automotive components industry, said Japan’s Ambassador to Tunisia, Shinsuke Shimizu.
Japan also plans to expand its investments in Tunisia in other areas including health, pharmaceuticals and other growth sectors, he added at a workshop held Thursday by the Tunisian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCITJ) and the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA) as part of the preparations for TICAD.
Shimizu said the Japanese Prime Minister will visit Tunisia during the summit, accompanied by hundreds of Japanese businessmen, adding that Tunisia could be the gateway for Japanese companies in Africa.
He stressed the need to improve the investment and business climate, including logistics, to strengthen the presence of Japanese investment in Tunisia.
The diplomat emphasised, in this vein, the need to improve the services of the port of Rades, saying “the port’s performance is not up to the standard. A greater effort should be made to make the logistics field more efficient in Tunisia, he said.
For his part, President of the CCITJ Hédi Ben Abbes explained that this workshop is part of the implementation of the roadmap that has been developed to prepare the “TICAD8”.
This conference will bring together all African countries and is aimed at the private sector to develop investment in all areas, he recalled.
The Tunisian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has established a roadmap, which has identified areas where Tunisia can achieve added value, such as the health sector and organic agriculture, as well as mechanical and electrical industries and everything related to automotive components, said Ben Abbes.
He added that Tunisia is one of the developed countries in the field of automotive components industry compared to African countries except South Africa, noting that: “the Japanese have expressed their willingness to invest more in this sector in Tunisia.
Ben Abbes also said there are 5 major Japanese companies currently investing in Tunisia which offer about 5 thousand jobs.
The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) to be held in 2022 in Tunis will see the participation of over 12 thousand businessmen.
Approximately 30 thousand visitors are also expected to this three-day event.
he seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7) held in Yokohama (Japan), recorded the participation of 42 heads of government, an African President and 10 thousand businessmen.
An investment amount of 20 billion dollars was allocated at that conference to strengthen investment in all African countries.
