The FINANCIAL — On 3 December, EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti will visit Tunisia on his first official trip to the country since he assumed his responsibilities as President of the Bank.
During the visit he is scheduled to meet the President of Tunisia, Moncef Marzouki as well as Riad Bettaieb, the Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Rafik Ben Abdessalem, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Slim Besbes, the Minister of Finance and Chedly Ayarym, the Governor of the Tunisian Central Bank.
He will also hold discussions with Wided Buchamaoui, the President of UTICA, as well as Tarek Cherif, the President of Tunisian business association, CONNECT.
The EBRD is fully committed to supporting the economic development and reform process in Tunisia and this visit marks the official launch of the EBRD’s long-term engagement in the country.
Sir Suma will sign an agreement to establish a local presence in Tunisia thus making it the first of the countries in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region where the EBRD will open a permanent representation office.
As the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development reported, on October 2012, in its first investment in Tunisia, the EBRD committed €20 million to the Maghreb Private Equity Fund (MPEF III) and has been active in Tunisia through technical assistance projects.
In line with the government’s own priorities, EBRD investments will help to develop the private sector, fostering the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises across a range of sectors as a way of helping to tackle the high level of youth unemployment. There will also be a strong focus on promoting energy efficiency.
The EBRD expects to be investing up to €2.5 billion by 2015 across the southern and eastern Mediterranean region which comprises Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.
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