Tunisian Minister of Development and International Cooperation, Mohamed Nouri Jouini, said he was optimistic about the prospects of economic growth for 2010, which stand at 4 pc despite the forecast ongoing effects of the world crisis and the vulnerability of the growth process.
Taking the floor at the Chamber of Deputies which hosted a debate over the economic growth, large scale projects, employment and local development, the Minister indicated that the relevant presidential measures taken in due time permitted to reduce the impact of the world crisis on the national economy while keeping a positive 3.1 pc growth rate.
The economic growth, he pointed out, will be given a boost thanks to the investment, competitiveness, and export incentives set forth in the President of the Republic’s program 2009-2014 “Together We Meet Challenges” platform.
He also explained that the openness of the national economy and its basic diversification will further strengthen the foundations of the development process, through drawing on the existing new technologies potentialities, enhancing domestic investment among young entrepreneurs, backing up the Tunisian businesses’ positioning in the strategic sectors, further attracting foreign investment, operating technological transfer and promoting green economy.
The Minister mentioned a study concerning 15 million dinars to be invested in a motorway project to interconnect all provinces nationwide.
Mr. Jouini namely mentioned the prospects for boosting Tunisia’s position within the Maghreb entity and on African and Asian markets.
With respect to large scale projects, he said that some of them had been launched like the “City Sport” project, the Financial Harbour project and that of the Telecommunications City.
The Minister said that because of the international crisis, the Sama Dubai Project was postponed but not cancelled. He announced that the Mdhillah 2nd chemical group will be completed in April 2011.
Furthermore, he pointed out, privatizing public firms has permitted increasing the employment capacity and enhancing these firms’ competiveness and productivity.
Tunisia has adopted a comprehensive, coherent, complementary, realistic and gradual development strategy that has made it possible to :
• achieve a sustained economic growth of 4.5% a year at constant prices during the period 2002-2006, against 2.4% during the period 1982-1986;
• ensure a greater private-sector participation in the development effort, as shown through the increase of the share of private investment, which stood at about 57% in 2007, against 47.8% in 1986;
• preserve the general balances, through bringing under control the budget deficit, the balance of payments, the debt and the debt service which, in 2007, was only 15.4%, against 26.5% in 1987;
Tunisia has enhanced the growth of productive sectors, and significantly increased the added value of the agricultural, industrial and services sectors.
Moreover, reforms have progressively diversified the economic base, consolidated the economy’s adaptability to changes, and reinforced its capacity to achieve integration within the world economy
Tunisia has opted for gradual and well-thought integration within the global economy. Moving ahead on this track, Tunisia has been able to :
• achieve an annual growth of exports amounting to 6% at constant prices during the past years, thereby improving its share in foreign markets.
• substantially open up its economy, as illustrated through an increase in the share of exports in the GDP, which rose from 34.7% in 1987 to 50.7% in 2007, and an increase in the volume of foreign investments from 100 million dinars in 1986 to 2,132 MD in 2007.
• improve the structure of its exports, by increasing the share manufactured products which, in 2007, represented 84.4% of the total volume of exports, against 62% in 1986
