Tunisia Economic Forum: Industry Modernization and Relaunch
In the context of successive shocks and crises highlighting the importance of improving the competitiveness of the industrial sector to strengthen resilience and ensure economic security and sovereignty, the Arab Institute of Business Leaders (IACE) organized the 8th edition of the "Tunisia Economic Forum" on June 3rd at the Maison de l'Entreprise, under the theme "Tunisian Industry: Modernization and Relaunch".
Amine Ben Ayed: Industry's Crucial Role in Job Creation
Amine Ben Ayed, President of IACE Tunisia, emphasized that historically, industry has played a crucial role in job creation. However, since the revolution, the industry has stagnated despite its significant weight in the economy. He stressed the need to modernize this sector, highlighting that few new projects are emerging in various fields.
Fatma Thabet Chiboub: Industrial Sector in Figures
Fatma Thabet Chiboub, Minister of Industry, Mines, and Energy, presented the industrial sector in figures. According to her, there are 4,702 enterprises, including 2,111 very small enterprises, and approximately 534,000 jobs. The industrial sector represents around 15% of GDP, with an average growth rate of 5.3%.
The manufacturing industry employs around 20% of the active population, and its exports account for 90% of total exports, with around 80% destined for Europe.
Competitiveness and Challenges
The leather and footwear sector has the largest number of enterprises (2,700, including 2,000 artisans). A public-private partnership (PPP) pact for promoting competitiveness in the sector by 2030 is underway.
Fatma Thabet Chiboub also highlighted that Tunisians are appreciated in developed countries for their professional skills, and Tunisia is positioning itself as a highly competitive country in the industry. However, there is still room for improvement.
Nafaa Ennaifer: Seizing Opportunities and Addressing Challenges
Nafaa Ennaifer, a member of the IACE board, emphasized the need to seize opportunities and address the real problems that hinder progress.
Digital Transition and Business Climate
Omar Bouzouada, Director-General of the Agency for the Promotion of Industry and Innovation (APII), explained the need for digital transition. Mhamed Ben Abid, responsible for the business climate at the Ministry of Economy, highlighted the problems perceived by investors, which hinder the business climate.
These problems include an inadequate regulatory, legal, and administrative framework, lack of trust between the private and public sectors, interoperability issues, non-inclusive financing offers, governance problems in administrations, ineffective tax and financial incentives, cumbersome administrative procedures, and complexity and instability of regulatory texts.
Strategic Vision 2035
Wrida Chalouati, Director at the Ministry of Industry, detailed the levers of the industrial strategy 2035. This includes creating a favorable environment for investment and economic activities, promoting innovation and digital, energy, and ecological transitions, giving a new impetus to the internationalization of enterprises, developing new vertical specializations, restoring the country's image, and enhancing its attractiveness.
Conclusion
The event concluded with the participation of Anis Marrakchi, a Franco-Tunisian economist, who explained the international context and the imperative of climate change, which have led to a return to industrial policies. One of the reasons is the multiplication of crises, including the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 crisis.