Sustainable growth in Tunisia

Tunisia had spent around 0.6 percent of its GDP in supporting the companies affected by the global financial crisis, Mr Mohamed Ghannouchi , Tunisia's prime minister, said during Emerging Markets Summit in London organized by Economist.

At the beginning of the current year, Tunisia set up a strategy to cope with the international crisis. As part of this vision, measures have been taken to help the national enterprises to preserve the growth of the Tunisian economy, Mr Ghannouchi told Global Arab Network in an interview on the sideline of the summit.

Mr Ghannouchi added: “one more important programme of investments established in order to develop modern motorway, wide railway network, construct 2 power stations of 400 MW each, build an oil refinery in south of the country, launch a phosphate plant and create a deep-waters seaport.

All these investments were spent with the purpose of boosting local demand and offer better business opportunities. The prime minister assured that his government is working to integrate Tunisia's economy into global market by implementing a programme with support of the European Union’s fund, World Bank and the African Development Bank.

The aims of this programme are to make sure that all businesses are able to reduce transaction costs, optimise foreign trade measures and improve access to financial market. Moreover, Tunisia empowered business environment to attract foreign direct investments (FDI) to its expanding sectors such as information and communication technologies, health, car industry, and electronics.

Mr Ghannouchi told Reuters News Agency “Tunisia's growth is likely to reach 3-3.5 percent this year and at least 4 percent in 2010. Before (the global crisis) we were on a path to grow 6 percent, this year our growth will be between 3 and 3.5 percent,” "In comparison with -4.0 percent for Europe, it is still positive and encouraging," Ghannouchi said.

Tunisia was looking for growth of 4 percent in 2010, he said, but a further improvement in the global outlook would help the domestic picture. He said, "We can do even better if the world recovery is faster."

Ghannouchi said that the country was trying to diversify its exports, with more direction towards Africa and the Maghreb region, the Middle East and North Africa. Tunisia, the North African country of 10 million people, relies on exports of manufactured goods and services, mostly to the European Union.

He said the government planned to make its currency, the dinar, fully convertible. "I do hope to make sure it's converted as soon as reachable. We have made a lot of progress in that area."

Ghannouchi continued that he hoped international institutions would move fast to disburse an extra $850 billion in resources decided for the International Monetary Fund at the G20 Summit April 2009. "We hope the measures agreed in London will be implemented effectively and as soon as possible."
He said that the trade exchange forces had been seriously shaken by the international financial crisis. The recession, which strongly hit the developed countries, had found its reflection in a great decline of foreign demand and a drop of approximately 12% of the world goods and services trade, compared with a sustainable growth during the last 25 years.
Ghannouchi stressed during the conference that he would like to see closer cooperation between European Union and MENA region. He emphasized that 1% growth in the southern Mediterranean countries reflected in 0.2 percent growth in the north-bank of the Mediterranean.
The Union for the Mediterranean, a project of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, was launched last year as a platform for regular gatherings among its 43 countries, with the EU providing financial and technical support to accelerate reforms and develop closer ties. "We want the union to come into practice immediately, as strong sign, in order to establish more harmonious policies between South and North of the Mediterranean and eventually to achieve collective prosperity," Ghannouchi concluded.

Despite the global crisis, Tunisia has managed to preserve its economy, maintain the growth and retain the lead among the North African countries, according to the World Economic Forum Report 2009/2010. These achievements place Tunisia among the emerging countries as a model of success.

Global arab network

Syria declares emergency for drought-hit northeast

Syria on Monday adopted emergency measures, including food distribution, to help people in the drought-hit northeast of the country, the official Sana news agency said.

It said the authorities “have begun to distribute food aid in the worst drought-affected regions in the northeast” as part of a series of emergency steps. “Nearly 5,200 food rations have been distributed in Al-Hasakah and 15,000 more rations will arrive in the next few days,” said provincial governor Najib Salloum. He added that each food ration comprised “150 kilograms of flour, 25 kg sugar, 25 kg semolina, 10 kg lentils, two kg animal fat, one kg tea, and one kg oil, worth in total 6,000 Syrian pounds (128 dollars)” distributed to the worst-affected families.

Syria’s northeast has been affected by drought for the past three years and 160 villages were abandoned by their inhabitants in 2007 and 2008 because of the climate change, according to a report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) published last week.

khaleejtimes

Morocco sets up carbon trading fund

Morocco's state-run pension fund Caisee de Depot et de Gestion (CDG) has set up a carbon trading fund with capital of MD300m ($35m). CDG will hold 50 per cent of the capital of Fonds Capital Carbone Maroc (FCCM). The European Investment Bank will hold a 25 per stake.

Caisse de Depots et Consignations, which heads up sustainable development in the country, will also hold 25 per cent. FCCM will promote and participate in projects connected with implementing the clean development mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which was agreed in 1997.

Under the mechanism, countries can trade their carbon credits on an international market. The fund will also support developers by buying their carbon credits from them. It will focus on projects in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management and reforestation sectors.

Egypt population could more than double by 2050

Egypt's population could more than double to reach 160 million by 2050, hindering social and economic development unless something is done about the "urgent" problem, President Hosni Mubarak warned on Monday.

Mubarak, who has in the past blamed population growth for draining state resources amid rising discontent at rocketing food prices, said that rampant reproduction was a "major challenge" and "fundamental obstacle" to development.

Population growth is "a major challenge for this generation and the generations to come," Mubarak said on Egyptian state television, and a "key obstacle to our efforts for development and improving the standard of living."

AFP

Conservation of ancient sites

The son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi unveiled an ambitious plan on Monday to protect ancient Greek ruins, conserve the country's pristine Mediterranean coastline and draw eco-tourists to this former pariah state.

Seif al-Islam Gadhafi's plan is part of an attempt to dramatically change the image of Libya — to an ecologically friendly tourist destination — at a time when the country is nearing its long-sought political goal: getting into the West's good graces.

The younger Gadhafi announced the project at a lavish ceremony inside a 2,200-year-old Greek gymnasium in the ruins of the ancient city of Cyrene, one of the country's largely untouched and unvisited antiquity sites that Libya hopes will pull in foreigners.

"Our intention is to build a complete and sustainable social, cultural, economic and environmental system in which the needs of the present allow for the needs of future generations," said Gadhafi, standing on the gymnasium's open plaza surrounded by tall, beige-colored columns.

"Its time now to join developed countries and make a statement that we are also concerned about the environment and culture," Gadhafi, who is known in Libya as "The Engineer," told reporters after the ceremony.

Touted as a reformer, 36-year-old Gadhafi has increasingly been sharing his father's spotlight and reaching out the West to soften Libya's image and return it to the international mainstream. He has no official government post, but many see him as the man most likely to take power in the North African country when his 65-year-old father steps down or dies. After spending decades as the United States' sworn enemy, Libya is embarking on a political and economic change of heart.

IHT

Committee of the Regions supports strengthening of ENP

Istvan Sertö-Radics, 1st Vice-President of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) Commission for External Relations, presented the CoR's political strategy related to European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) during the high-level conference held in Brussels on 3 September.

He told the Conference that the CoR contributes to the implementation and assessment of a variety of new neighbourhood policy instruments and programmes, particularly in the field of cross-border and interregional cooperation, along with institution-building programmes, which are of particular importance for local and regional authorities.

During the conference workshop on governance and stability, Lucio Gussetti, Director of the CoR Directorate for Consultative Works, said that the CoR had proposed setting up a forum of local and regional authorities of the Euromed region, as well as engaging in local and regional election monitoring in ENP countries.

The representative voice of regions and cities in the EU, the CoR believes that cooperation at local and regional level across of Europe is a major pre-requisite for political stability, sustainable growth and protection of the environment in the neighbourhood area.