Misrata– Tunisia has been working for several years to promote cooperation with Libya in the economic fields, transit trade and free zones, to access African markets, especially central and southern African markets, in an attempt to advance its economy, which has been in decline for a decade.
Tunisia seeks to diversify its foreign markets – a step that may be late – and not be limited to the traditional partner, the European Union, given the fact that together with Libya a direct gateway deep into the African continent, she stated.
The Tunisian presence in Africa remained weak compared to countries such as Morocco, as Tunisian embassies in Africa do not exceed 15, while Tunisair flies to only few destinations in West Africa, she added.
Tunisia had recently submitted a request to access the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), in addition to opening new diplomatic missions in several African countries.
African markets are considered promising markets for the Tunisian economy, especially markets of “COMESA” member states, totaling 19 African countries, east and south, with a population of about 500 million people, and can be easily accessed through the airspace and land borders of Libya with the brown continent.
In this regard, the Tunisian Minister of Equipment and Housing, Sarah Zenzri, emphasized the need for a Libyan-Tunisian common vision to crystallize a common approach towards sub-Saharan Africa so that they would be a gateway for many countries interested in the African market, similar to European and Asian countries, especially in the face of the challenges posed by the African market.
The Tunisian minister said during her participation Monday, in the official opening of the first session of the Libyan-Tunisian exhibition for the development of trade and industry in the city of Misrata, that Tunisia puts at the disposal of Libya the experience of public and private companies in the field of contracting, recalling that the private sector in Tunisia numbers (6835) construction and public works contracts and (293) studies and (14) monitoring offices, in addition to (247) consulting engineers and (164) land surveying experts, many of whom are well known to Libyan actors, as well as Tunisian public sector institutions and companies.
On the other hand, “Zanzri” reaffirmed Tunisia’s keen interest in standing with Libya, noting that the Tunisian government will spare no effort to further support cooperation relations between the two countries in various fields during the next stage.
“We have no choice but to succeed together and progress hand in hand for a better future for the two peoples,” said the Tunisian minister, noting that the Tunisian government is also seeking to find effective solutions to a number of problems such as facilitating services at border crossings and care for Libyan investors and Libyan citizens who move to Tunisia.
The Tunisian minister added that the joint-will and the political decision adopted by the Tunisian government and the government of national unity to overcome all difficulties and lift obstacles are capable of achieving joint successes to benefit both countries and the two brotherly peoples, according to a statement by the Tunisian Ministry of Equipment.
Source: Libyan News Agency