Fifty-five (55) Tunisian businessmen and about 250 Congolese investors, operating in various sectors of activity, will participate in the 3rd Tunisian-Congolese Business Forum, to be held from March 22 to 27, 2021 in Kinshasa, said the Tunisian ambassador in five African countries and residing in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), Adel Bouzekri Rmili.
This third edition of the forum, organized in cooperation between the Embassy of Tunisia in Kinshasa and the Tunisian-African Business Council (TABC), aims to study ways to promote exports between the two countries so as to boost bilateral trade, consolidate economic relations Tunisian-Congolese and explore the business climate and investment opportunities in this country.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Othman Jarandi is expected to head the Tunisian business mission to this forum, for the first time in the history of economic missions.
This proves, according to Bouzekri Rmili, the importance of the economic component in the Tunisian diplomacy.
He said, in this context, that since 2010, no Tunisian official has travelled to Kinshasa, with the exception of the visit made by the former President of the Republic, Moncef Marzouki, in 2012 in Kinshasa, as part of his participation in the 14th session of the Summit of the Francophonie.
The Tunisian ambassador said Kinshasa could be the largest African market for Tunisians, given that most of the food available is imported, despite the fact that the region has 80 million hectares of agricultural land.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is the second largest African country in terms of area after Algeria, with 9 countries on its borders, which allows it to become a regional platform, according to Rmili.
The value of exports from Tunisia to Kinshasa has exceeded $ 21 million, in 2020, or about 57 million dinars.
President of the Tunisian-African Business Council Anis Jaziri said the Tunisian business mission in Kinshasa will include engineering and health offices, companies operating in the food industries, pharmaceutical industries, subcontracting, construction, public works, mechanical and electrical industries, services, energy, higher education …
Jaziri was keen to reassure about the security situation in the Congo that has improved after the organization of democratic elections, which led to the election of a head of state. The latter enjoys the support of international donors, which will allow the launch of many projects in the country, he added.
0
The DRC is one of the promising markets in Africa for Tunisia, he said, “because on the one hand, it is one of the richest African countries in raw materials, and on the other hand it has more than 100 million consumers.
In addition, the first community of African students in Tunisia is from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The DRC expects a growth rate of 2.1% in 2021 compared to -1.7% in 2020, thanks to improved productivity in the mining sector, coupled with higher global prices.
Its GDP is currently estimated at $51.58 billion. The GDP per capita is, therefore, about 512 dollars in 2020, down from 542.76 dollars in 2019.
