A funding agreement of KWD 10 million (TND 100 million) was signed Wednesday by the Ministry of Economy and Planning and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development ( AFESD) to carry out an integrated agricultural development project in the basin of Tessa Wadi, El Kef (northern Tunisia).
The agreement was inked by Minister Feryel Ouerghi Sabïi and Director-General / Chairman of the Board of the Arab Fund Bader Mohammad Al-Saad on the sidelines of the Annual Joint Meetings of Arab Financial Institutions held in Cairo on May 21-22.
The project icludes several segments, the ministry said in a press release, in connection mainly to the protection of agricultural land against erosion, agricultural waterworks, the protection of plains against floods, forest developement, the development of agricultural tracks, drinking water supply, the development of the value chain systems, agricultural projects, mainly sustainable income-generating small-scale projects.
The two sides laid emphasis on the importance of financial and technical cooperation. Bader Mohammad Al-Saad said the fund wants to forge ahead with this constructive cooperation and examine priority development projects which require financial and technical support.
The minister, who attended the opening session of the Annual Meetings, also participated in the meetings of boards of governors of such institutions as the AFESD, t he Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corporation, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) as well as the Board of Shareholders of the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development chaired by Tunisia on the proposal and approval of all members.
The minister held bilateral talks with presidents of these authorities during which ways to increase joint action to scale up cooperation, in light of the challenges in connection to climate change and its impact on food security and water and energy resources.
The minister also met with Egyptian Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala Helmy El-Said as well as Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Machat.
The talks focused on the potential and opportunities in the two countries to accelerate cooperation and partnership in the private sector. An invitation was extended to the Egyptian ministers to attend to the 21st edition of the Investmnt Forum.
The minister had a meeting Tuesday, with attendance of Tunisia’s ambassador in Cairo, with members of the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce and several business operators in a wide range of sectors.
The promotion of investment and partnership opportunities and reforms introduced by the Tunisian government to further improve the business and investment climate took centre stage.
The minister extended an invitation to participants to attend the Investmetn Forum slated to be held on June 12-13. This would be an opportunity for Egyptian business operators, she said, to better familiarise with available opportunities to establish fruitful partnerships which serve the interests of the two countries.
