Italian business mission to arrive in Tunisia on Monday

(AGI) Rome, May 6 - An Italian business mission led by Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni will arrive in Tunisia on Monday. The goal of the mission - organised by Confindustria, the Italian Trade Agency (ICE), ANI and other members of the Control room for Internationalisation, with the support of the ministries of Economic Development and Foreign Affairs - is to seize trade and investment opportunities offered by the Tunisian market to Italian companies. The initiative focuses in particular on: agriculture, agricultural machinery and food processing technology; infrastructure and construction; energy from renewable sources. The mission starts in Tunis on Monday morning with technical sessions on Tunisian law and the sectors targeted by the mission. The session will be followed by the Italy-Tunisia Business Forum, focused on political and economic relations between the two countries and the opportunities for cooperation and investment offered by the Tunisian market. In the afternoon, there will be bilateral meetings aimed at establishing working contacts and exploring possible areas of cooperation. According to data released by Italian export credit agency SACE, Italy continues to export more to Tunisia than it imports. In 2015, Italian exports exceeded 3 billion euros in value but fell by 7.8 percent compared to 2014. The main Italian export sectors were fashion (19 percent), refinery products (16 percent), iron and steel items (15 percent) and mechanical engineering (11 percent). Imports from Tunisia rose by 4.4 percent, mainly textiles and food products. Italy is among the leading foreign investors in Tunisia, along with France, Germany and Britain. About 750 Italian companies are active in the country, particularly in the textile and clothing sector. Several Italian industrial groups are also participating in the energy, transportation, metallurgy and construction sectors. Tunis is looking for political stability, but the terrorist threat still looms following three attacks in 2015. This year started with a government reshuffle, which consolidated the alliance between the secular Nidaa Tounes and Ennahda's moderate Islamists. The difficult situation of the Tunisian economy often gives rise to strikes and social tensions. Moreover, the continuing instability in Libya causes a constant state of tension along the border and exposes the country to the risk of terrorist infiltration..
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