Qatari investments in Tunisia reach $1bn

The value of the Qatari investments in Tunisia has reached $1 billion over the past three years, the Chairman of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Indistry, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Jassim Al-Thani, announced today.

Speaking at the Tunisian-Qatari Economic Forum, which is currently taking place in Qatar’s capital of Doha, Al-Thani said that the Qatari investments in Tunisia include the tourism, telecommunications and financial sectors.

The economic forum, which was launched today with the participation of a large number of Qatari and 130 of the most prominent Tunisian businessmen, aims at strengthening the bilateral partnership between both countries and opening new horizons of cooperation so as to promote the trade volume between both countries.

The Qatari official noted to the numerous Qatari projects which were announced during last year’s Tunisia 2020 conference to boost Tunisia’s economy, including a $200-million worth tourism project in the northern suburbs of the North African country.

Trade exchange between the two countries, he pointed out, have witnessed an increasing growth during the past years, registering some 146 million Qatari riyals ($40.1 million) in 2016. He expressed his hope for the exchanged products between both countries to witness diversity and rise to a level that satisfies the ambitions of both countries.

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On his part, the Tunisian Minister of Commerce, Omar Al-Bahi, said that the forum “reflects the keenness of both sides on promoting economic and trade ties to higher levels that would allow them to employ their capacities and open new horizons for partnership so as to enhance bilateral cooperation and push forward the pace of trade exchange between Tunisia and Qatar.”

“The significance of the current phase requires the two sides to intensify mutual activities and meetings in order to achieve more economic cooperation and establish better ties in the future,” Al-Bahi stressed, noting that the Qatar’s current position as one of the biggest investors in Tunisia “proves the depth of ties between the two countries.”

The two-day forum is expected to witness the signing of more partnerships between Qatari and Tunisian companies, which will boost the imports and exports between both countries.

Qatar is Tunisia’s third largest trading partner in the Gulf region. Trade between the two countries grew by 3.4 per cent during the first nine months of 2017, reaching 97.53 million Qatari rials (26.8 million dollars). During the same period of 2016, trade exchange between the two countries amounted to 64.6 million Qatari dinars ($17,742,379.02).